Poetic Justice In The Flesh

After all of the literature that we have read as a class in World Literature this fall of 2010, I find that when a poet reads their own work, a unique life is given to their poetry. As I listened to T.S. Eliot read his poetry, I realized that the poet with their poetry is like a mother with her babies. In reading Sandy Longhorn’s poem Psalm For The Color Red, I guessed that it was written in the 20th century: maybe from the Enlightenment or Realism era. In Longhorn’s Etude a shadow of old timey Realism/Romantic is hinted at, so I was a little surprised. While examining the lines of her free verse writing style in Psalm For The Color Red, I was drawn into the life of her vibrant spirit as she read, “What do you do with the boy who never learns…” and goes on to say “who puts his hand on the burner because the explosion of pain is the color red,” (Longhorn 53). Can you not just visualize the little boy who seems to be an unhappy kid, not doing the usual happy, busy kid stuff? Then to get the insight from whence these lines originated, was especially nice to know: you don’t always have a chance to quiz the poet. Etude was more of a yearning for freedom for the daughter and a not wanting to let go for the mother. Longhorn’s use of nature’s elements shows the flow of gracefulness of the dancing girl and this is expressed by stating, “She walked with that much grace. Some days I watched her test the law of gravity—the wind her patient lover” (Longhorn 52). Here is a vivid picture of a girl who is graceful and light on her feet like a schooled ballerina. After hearing the poem read aloud by Mrs. Longhorn it made much more sense. This was one of my favorite blogs, I saved the best for last!