a noose around my waist,
and lowered me into
the darkness. I could taste
my fear. It tasted first
of dark, then earth, then rot.
I swung and struck my head
and at that moment got
another then: then blood,
which spiked my mouth with iron.
Hand over hand, my father
dropped me from then to then:
then water. Then wet fur,
which I hugged to my chest.
I shouted. Daddy hauled
the wet rope. I gagged, and pressed
against me. I held its death
and rose up to my father.
Then light. Then hands. Then breath.
This poem is straight from Mrs. Gorman's Poem-a-Day link on her webpage.
ReplyDelete"A dog fell down a well, and here
a boy has to help his father retrieve it."
I enjoyed reading this poem. One thing that stood out was that the dog was dead. I guess it would be logical that the dog died since it fell down a well, but reading "its death" still surprised me a bit. The dog's death also ties in with the other images in the poem about the taste of rot and blood.
I personally hate the word "cinched", but thats just me...
ReplyDeleteI was particularly impressed with the passage about fear:
ReplyDeleteIt tasted first
of dark, then earth, then rot.
And later:
then blood,
which spiked my mouth with iron.
This is like multiple stages of fear: first, there is a drak tremor inside(the first physical reaction; how you feel when you see the lion jump out of the bush and run at you). Second, there is a gut instinct from one's body (when you start to run faster than you ever have from the lion). Next, there is an inner emptiness and sickness (the pure physicality of chase, the lack of anything beyond the present, and maybe the nausea afterwards). Finally, there is the redemption and pain and survival (how you feel when you have escaped, and the lingering mortality you feel).
Also, this whole descent reminded of the story of Orpheus. Look it up.
One last thing: the neat "then" progression of the poem is appealing, and a useful device to show a series of events, but avoiding making the poem primarily narrative.
This poem's unique subject matter made reading this very entertaining. A lot of other poems I've read are boring and have no appeal towards me. I like the flow of events and the description of the child's feelings as he is lowered down into the well.
ReplyDeleteIn my brief Wiki-ing of Orpheus, I saw the main story of Orpheus traveling to the Underworld to rescue Eurydice. Is this the story to which you refer?
ReplyDeleteAlso, a later paragraph compares this legend to the story of the trickster coyote by the Nez Perce, which we read earlier this year. Don't really follow that connection; so if anyone would like to offer any ideas...
This is the correct story, but I don't see the connection to the coyote either. Perhaps Wiki is talking about another story with Coyote, or it might just be some stupid person.
ReplyDelete