tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050671046341380747.post4656599165126417587..comments2011-01-10T17:42:59.620-05:00Comments on Written Word: Edited Workshop Poems Pt. 1Simon Phillip Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06104596077146627338noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050671046341380747.post-10255206723538505712009-07-22T00:30:29.369-05:002009-07-22T00:30:29.369-05:00I expanded the thoughts I shared above in an essay...I expanded the thoughts I shared above in an essay I wrote for my own blog.<br /><br /><a href="http://matthewkoslowski.com/2009/07/22/the-prestige-in-poetry/" rel="nofollow">The Prestige in Poetry</a><br /><br />Peace,<br />Matthew KoslowskiMatthew Koslowskihttp://www.matthewkoslowski.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050671046341380747.post-67213843565604593572009-07-01T17:32:24.469-05:002009-07-01T17:32:24.469-05:00When I first read through this poem, what struck m...When I first read through this poem, what struck me was the distance between the narrator and "he." The distance was such that I thought that the word "he" referred not to another slave but rather to the master. Masters and slaves "worked together", if you call the slave master sitting atop a horse "supervising" work "working together." I thought their working together was ironic.<br /><br />On second reading of the poem I understood it. Even understanding it, the image of "throwing handfuls of sunlight" remains confusing. In the second stanza after "throwing handfuls of sunlight" you use the word "torch." If you were to tie the stanzas together it would make the poem pop: "handfuls of sunlight" would remain ambiguous until two stanzas later where you reveal the "handfuls of sunlight" were torches.<br /><br />For example, I think the following little change makes the poem taken as a whole clearer:<br /> We stood in the woods<br /> waiting for the moonlight<br /> before throwing handfuls of sunlight<br /> onto the roof.<br /><br /> I could not concentrate<br /> I was distracted<br /> by the confused screams<br /> of a little girl.<br /><br /> I wanted to find her<br /> but I couldn't follow the sound.<br /> So I ran to the rivers,<br /> haunted by the screams.<br /> <i>The moon guides me like<br /> the torches we threw.</i><br /><br />Peace,<br />Matthew KoslowskiMatthew Koslowskihttp://www.matthewkoslowski.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050671046341380747.post-2966567517235831572009-06-08T12:57:29.276-05:002009-06-08T12:57:29.276-05:00Reflections is a really powerful piece of work Sim...Reflections is a really powerful piece of work Simon. The imagery is excellent, you really feel as if you're on a Middle passage voyage. I like the seeming connection between the slave's loss of his son and his participation in murdering another child. For me, that had the strongest impact.Michaelianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9050671046341380747.post-91686079648992416992009-06-04T22:51:53.166-05:002009-06-04T22:51:53.166-05:00I love the last verse. That on its own is a whole ...I love the last verse. That on its own is a whole poem. It provokes so much thought....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com