A Season Of Poetry

In the land of poetry, literature and art there is a language spoken. It is a language of metaphors. Oddly enough, one can usually tell if the author is male or female from the style. I have read books written where the main character was a man and the author a woman ... the woman speaking for a man came out a little soft ... and I have read books where the author was a man and the main character a woman .... the woman was some kind of juggernaut. It is the same in art. One can usually tell by the approach to the subject matter if the artist is male or female.

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One can also tell what opinion the author or artist has to the subject matter by the subtle use of language or slight stroke of the brush. A man painting a woman may depict her as an ideal or as an object of hatred. In poetry an oddly used word or metaphor captures our attention and evokes thought and emotion. Try this on;

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I have gone marking the atlas of your body

with crosses of fire

My mouth went across: a spider trying to hide.

In you, behind you, timid, driven by thirst.

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What feeling do you get? Are there any literary allusions? Are there any metaphors? Is this written by a man or a woman? I have my opinion. Shall I tell?

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Already I have the advantage because I know the author is Pablo Neruda. The metaphor that jumps at me is "spider" ... it is an unflattering way of speaking of himself .... he is a scittery little spider driven to be bold by his thirst that needs to suck his lover dry. I feel puzzled by the "crosses of fire" Makes me think of the KKK or maybe the crusades, conquest? Is she going to die or be some empty husk when he is done with her? The opening lines remind me of the animal kingdom and the male marking his territory ... so he is possessive too. This is my initial response. If I were to talk to Pablo or go to a literary class I might learn more.

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There is a problem with metaphors .... they explain but also confuse. They are a poetic and beautiful tool .... that gives you a partial glimpse or picture of reality. You need to talk to the author or be instructed to understand. I have written some poetry and I can tell you about my poetry. It helps to know your bible .... folks who are familiar with scripture will recognize the allusions and may actually enjoy putting together the puzzle pieces of what my poem is about.

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In The Widow's Offering I reflect on the sacrifice of Christ and how I am called to follow in his footsteps. I hesitate. I think that is the moment captured in the painting above ... that moment of hesitation .... "God are you serious? You want my two pennies?" The reference to the widow is the story of the woman who put all she had in the offering plate .... it was two pennies. Jesus said she had given more than all the rest because she had given out of her poverty. The poem ends with the hope of heaven and the restoration of all things. So why don't I just say that? Because then there would be one less poem. Here it is;''

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The Widow's Offering

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Last fall the pirate wind snatched

the leaves from the maple in the

yard, and in trampling triumph

danced a dirge upon the garden

path. My tree, bare branched

against a purple sky all glory

spent, is a silent testament.

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I in my cap and coat protected

from the winds sharp tongue and

icy finger point, turn from the

blood trail. Reproached by all that

is mine in hearth and home,

purchased contentment not my

own but given, my coldness thaws

to prick my eyes and turn my step.

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Though now the widow winter

weeps and earth bereaved lies

silent under shroud of snow. I

watch and wait for breath and

sprout of spring to crown the

thorny hedgerows of the way with

bursts of fragrant flowering, as

earth and sky have wedding day

and all that's lost returns again.

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~Melanie Bird