Response to "Loading a Boar," etc.

David Lee’s “Loading a Boar” fooled me in the beginning. I immediately saw the form and thought “prose poetry.” As I began reading, I very much enjoyed the expletives. Some people try to make poetry too dainty and proper; however, is life ever dainty and proper? The seeming contradiction of simple grammar and taboo words to poetry was fascinating. To me, this gave the poem a very genuine feeling.

            Although the dialogue became a bit unclear because of incorrect punctuation, my favorite line is “’shit, young feller, you aint got/ started yet and the reason’s cause you trying to do it outside yourself…”’ The line reflects the message of today’s class: stick with what you’re an expert at. What better than yourself?

            Matt Bondurant’s “The Pathos of Charles Schulz” weaves through Charles Shulz’s cartoon in a way the audience does not expect. He adds depth to the characters by describing Charlie’s anxiety. Bondurant’s strong images such as “and fixes himself a bowl of cold cereal,/ spooning soggy flakes into his mouth.” evokes a sense of familiarity in the audience. When I read this line, I imaged myself, tired and solemn, eating cereal as it soaked into the milk.

            Sharon Olds’ “I Go Back to May 1937” is an intensely emotional poem. The speaker of the poem describes a picture, or so it seems, of her parents graduating college. The use of diction such as “plates of blood” and “sword-tips black” gives the poem a dark, violent tone. This tone perfectly fits together with the seemingly violent family picture in the present-time.

            My favorite part of the poem is the speed. For me, the beginning of the poem was slow and steady; however, it sped up with ferocity until the ending, “I say/ Do what you are going to do, and I will tell about it.” These lines slap the reader in the face with the matter-of-fact way it is written.