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An Afternoon Walk (Free verse) by Dovina

Snow on the ground, shallow and dirty. Up in the trees it’s crusty and clean. Walking and talking, cars kicking dust, it settles still dry on the roadside snow. White seems more bright, in this afternoon light, and dust is not only kicked up by the cars. Snow jokes like a salve and covers his wounds and rambles like honey, sweetening mine. And dust in the snow becomes gaps in his lines or dark flaws in my light-hearted tales. Both are designed to look white and bright, to cover the dark things - dirt and limb. Which are more lofty covering whiter? Which bear the dust of weaker defense?

zodiac 10-Nov-04/12:33 AM
Maybe I've just not taken enough time on this (I haven't), but I don't immediately see how the imagery is supposed to work. Either

a) the "shallow and dirty snow" and "crusty and clean" snow are the jokes, and the "black limbs sagging" and "tan earth" are the missives;

b) or the "shallow and dirty snow" and "black limbs sagging" are the jokes, and the "crusty and clean" snow and the "tan earth" are the missives. There's no other way around it.

If a), how are his jokes both "shallow and dirty" and low, and "crusty and clean" and lofty? And how are "black limbs sagging" and "tan earth hidden" missives? The limbs, maybe, reach out - that works. But the earth is the opposite; it's passive and hidden. Sure, you can be reaching out and being passive and hidden probably, but not in metaphor land.

Choice b) seems more likely. You get "shallow and dirty" and kind of desparate limbs reaching out and sagging for the jokes. But then you get clean tree snow and hidden earth for the missives. How are either of those missives? And aren't they still opposites?

Go ahead, tell me where I've gone wrong.




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