Blog 2/18/15

The first poem I looked at from the packet was Peter Markus's When It Rains It Rains A River. Immediately, the wording of the poem struck me as unusual. There is something motivational but poetic about the way it was written, as if it was a commander giving a speech before battle. "Other boys when it rains, they run inside to be with their mothers, but us brothers, when it rains, we run outside to be with ourselves. Outside, in the rain, the dirt beneath us turns to mud. Us brothers, we love mud." The story then transitions into something like a Native American creation myth. "We eat until our bellies are big with mud. We take what is left of the mud and we make girl." I believe I have read a few different creation stories involving sculpting humans out of mud.

 The Singing Fish continues where the previous poem left off, once again highlighting the mysterious "girl". The "us brothers" make an appearance as well, and at this point the significance of either is unknown to me. He has more of a Walt Whitman type approach on this one, comparing himself and his "brothers" to stick figure fish. "oh yes, these fish, they are us." I now have a hunch that Markus is writing from the perspective of a toddler. There is a childlike curiosity to his writing.

One of Mattawa's most impressive poems in Tocqueville was "Terrorist". The poem is quite cryptic. For example, I am unable to figure out why it is called "Terrorist". Most of the writing is descriptions of the author unifying his body with his brother's "I become my brother’s Siamese twin./
Rubbing the ashes of his bones unto my face". Why/how he chose the title is unclear. The poem is very dark, and gruesome images are created throughout: "I have cleansed my body with the soap of his fat,/ stuffed my pillows with his shorn hair,/ I made dice of his molars." Though I appreciate the imagery, I'm at a loss trying to figure out what message it communicates. My favorite line of the poem was: "despite my bunkered heart and fortified skin,". The combination of words rolls nicely off the tongue.

Having finished Tocqueville, I overall like what the author did with the collection. Problems that I had with the poems were not because of the author, it was because of my own feelings about poetry. Though I would probably not pick up this book or another poetry collection again, I will remember how to pick out small things that I like within the writing. I have come to realize that I will never enjoy poetry, but I can still see how skilled the writing is.