Mia+R.

=Eating Poetry: Desolation=

They Shut Me Up In Prose

They shut me up in Prose – As when a little Girl They put me in the Closet – Because they liked me “still ” –

Still! Could themself have peeped – And seen my Brain — go round – They might as wise have lodged a Bird For Treason — in the Pound –

Himself has but to will And easy as a Star Abolish his Captivity – And laugh — No more have I “

~Emily Dickinson

EMILY DICKINSON'S HIGHER PURPOSE


 * Loneliness

Now it is Loneliness who comes at night Instead of Sleep, to sit beside my bed. Like a tired child I lie and wait her tread , I watch her softly blowing out the light. Motionless sitting, neither left or right She turns, and weary, weary droops her head. She, too, is old; she, too, has fought the fight. So, with the laurel she is garlanded.

Through the sad dark the slowly ebbing tide Breaks on a barren shore, unsatisfied. A strange wind flows... then silence. I am fain To turn to Loneliness, to take her hand , Cling to her, waiting, till the barren land Fills with the dreadful monotone of rain

 ~Katherine Mansfield KATHERINE MANSFIELD'S HIGHER PURPOSE

**

A Desolation

Now mind is clear as a cloudless sky. Time then to make a home in the wilderness.

What have I done but wander with my eyes in the trees? So I will build: wife, family, and seek for neighbors.

Or I perish of lonesomeness or want of food or lightning or the bear (must tame the hart and and wear the bear ).

And maybe make an image of my wandering, a little image---shrine by the roadside to signify to traveler that I live here in the wilderness awake and at home.

~Allen Ginsburg

ALLEN GINSBURG'S HIGHER PURPOSE


 * __Comparing All 3 Poems:__

The most critical comparison in these poems is that they never leave you with a nice feeling in your stomach. After dissecting these poems one by one, I feel empty after reading them, they make you feel cold. These poems are all beautifully written, but deep behind the words lies much despair. All three poems involve some aspect of being alone and lonely. These are just some of the similarities. There are also many differences between these poems. For instance, they all cover the topic of desolation, but they all have their own way of saying it. In the first poem, it is an obvious choice to be about the authors life, we can see how personally she was affected by what happened to her. In the second poem, things are much darker. This is the most desolate poem out of all three in my opinion. The third poem is the one that is the most abstract and makes you think most behind the poets gentle words to find a hidden meaning.

The theme of desolation is clearly evident throughout each poem in its own way. In the poems, the imagery and figurative language is the most clear cut way of seeing the theme. The poets are all very talented at conveying people and emotions through the words they inspire us with. Every little line of every stanza tells us a different intricate story that we have to figure out. Each poem pulls out the best of the best, the loneliest or the most desolate. But the poems are not always clear and easy to read into, desolation is a complex theme because it is the core essence of loneliness, the epitome if you will.

The poem that had the most effect on me was probably A Desolation, the third poem, by Allen Ginsburg. This poem originally was the one that I was most hesitant to use. I had chosen another poem to use but after re reading it, I wasn't as confident in my choice. Then I searched around the vast index that is the web and stumbled across this poem. After reading it through, I knew it was a great pick. The reason I loved this poem so much more than the other two, was that is wasn't as easy to figure out. Ginsburg makes such a lovely image of this wilderness and making his home there and proving that his is at home there that it took me a while to really grasp this. At first I was a slight bit confused as to what the real meaning of this poem was and then it just clicked. Also, the poem flows off of the tongue easily, it is a nice read and upon first glance, you might think this poem about living in the wilderness and nothing more. Then when you go over it in higher depth, you can see what he is really getting at which I have explained in my hyperlinks. I love deciphering hidden messages within writing that other people have looked over without even a second thought. I feel so accomplished and like I have found the true essence behind the pictures the poets have painting for us in our minds **

