What a perfect Spring Day to read H.D!
Here is a poem dedicated to H.D (Dr. Seuss Style)
A Joyful occasion
By Deanna Ver Schneider
I could read H.D in a hammock on a beach
or in the mountains
on a peak
By the fountains
raining spring water,
In my house
where no one could bother
me. Oh my, thank you H.D.
For bringing back joy
to me in Poetry.
Now, I am not exactly suggesting that H.D's poetry is joyful, but rather that it brings joy to me because I thoroughly enjoy reading it. Maybe because I'm a cynical old hag, or possibly because it is a breath of fresh air coming out of T.S Eliot and Pound (who btw, are great but mind-numbing).
Today I want to start with the poem This is Not an Experiment by Pablo Saborío.
His poetry is quite depressing with conflicting imagery and feelings of tension. While I don't know that I would say this is imagist poetry, Saborio uses images, very abstract images, to get his emotion across. He uses images that conflict, "This is a shadow shedding its bone in a camouflage of change." Shadows don't have bones to shed...
He also uses images that simply don't make a lick of sense, "This is a sister opening a drawer to hide a wonderful thing"
Throughout the poem, I am left hanging, hanging on to what should be coming next, an explanation. What wonderful thing? What perception?... I didn't realize I was hanging until the end of the poem when he draws a picture of someone hanging off of a cliff, ending almost hopelessly.
"But above all,
this is another handclinging to the edgebefore the fall."
It was then, that it all made sense.
H.D's poem, "Eurydice" was a picture of hopelessness for me. But, if there is such a thing, a beautiful hopelessness. With the myth of Eurydice and Orpheus as a back drop (also a sign of good poetry according to Eliot), the poem struck some emotional cords. She is clearly angry and unforgiving to the one who looked back, to the man who put her back in her misery after promising to rescue her. The man who, because he couldn't help himself, sent her back to hell. Yeah, I'd be pissed off too. And H.D creates a world for her readers-- A black, lost, ruthless world that she is forever condemned to because of the arrogance of her lover. "How RUDE!" is an understatement.
Her images, unlike Saborio's, make logical sense (for the most part). She communicates her emotions through the language, and emphasizes it through the images. Saborio uses conflicting images to communicate his emotions.
"before I am lost, hell must open like a red rose for the dead to pass."
How can someone make hopelessness sound so beautiful?
I enjoyed reading "This is Not an Experiment." Thanks for the link and for the comparison. I think you're right about being beautiful with sadness. It's not always what you want, but the idea of presenting sadness in a beautiful way almost makes the sadness better.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I would disagree on how you read the tone of Eurydice. There is a sense of hopelessness and sadness, but I've always read it as a "to heck with your romance, I have flowers!" response. Eurydice always felt more in control than she let on. Although I still do feel the sadness of the poem like you do.