Wm. Jon Strauss
Observation Journal #3
Prof. Trimble
Meaning and Madness
This poem is about my memories of last fall -- something I wish I
could relive this autumn. It is ,therefore, a subjective
experience of nature, which is how I best understand dear Emily would
intend. In regards to the length, I am somewhat
of an impressionist in poetry; I try to capture just one fleeting
feeling and the causes of it. There is a certain similarity
between my favorite Dickinson poems and my own and I believe it is in
the conciseness of our style. All in all, I decided
it was best to allow my own style to take precedence rather than some
poor bastardization of Emily's form. Anyways,
we share a birthday, so I'm allowed to my artistic liberties. ;-)
Shadow
cold autumn freeze
the smell of fall's breeze
heartache for those rains
the fathoms of deepest sorrow
hold up the heavens
just to see one more day
the past has left me weak
returning amber trees
shattered asphalt leaves
coarse, tired, reflect skies
one wound -- one shame
and I live on
your picture, out of time
I've taken in my mind
your shadow's kept alive
A quick analysis of my poem reveals many thoughts and memories that
I experience in a brief moment. While strolling
through the park blocks, I happened upon something that brought back
many emotionally charged memories. The rain
used to be something I loathed -- I'm a bit of a cat, I don't like
getting wet -- yet, Molly and I used to walk in the rain nearly
every day. Suddenly, my loathing of rain became a different beast in
its own -- I now wished for the rain.
I then insert a stanza of internal
thoughts (...Fathoms of deepest sorrow...) that follow a tangent
relating to my desire
for the rain. Following that, I speak
again about the past and conclude the stanza with my observation of
amber leaves being
ground into the pavement.
From that point on, I bring the poem into
my mind and my subjective experience of the fall. The final stanza ties
the
entire poem together into one singular
point: I relive memories of past times during this season.