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Poet: Anne Sexton
Poem: The Dead Heart
Poem of the Day:
Apr 10 2013
Comment 2 of 2, added on January 16th, 2013 at 2:49 PM.
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Upon reading this poem I iliadmetemy recalled something that a poet told me who once sat on a panel of poets with Billy Collins. It has been a while but what I recall in essence is that Collins is sensitive to criticism that his poetry appeals to the larger following he enjoys because his poetry is too simple. He felt that how hard he worked on his poetry to make it accessible was underappreciated. When I read this poem I hear a speaker entreating the reader to dive into the experience of the poem and to not miss the intended experience while looking for some multi-layered and intricate meaning—to enjoy the simple and obvious essence of the poem. What I love about this poem is its plea to the reader to enjoy the simple beauty of a poem in the same way we might enjoy a hummingbird. I don’t need, or want, a scientist to tell me how the hummingbird manages to be a hummingbird, or, better yet, how a bubble bee flies when it isn’t supposed to be able to fly. One particularly intriguing line for me in the poem is “waving at the author’s name on the shore.” Why would the speaker-poet not want the water skier to wave at the poet proper? Having asked that, I am satisfied Collins gave the matter a great deal of thought and that the answer may very well have to do with the desire to minimize the author while maximizing the experience of the poem.“They,” first appearing in the penultimate stanza, I suspect, are the critics that view Collins’ poetry as too simple. And I simply love the image of “beating it with a hose.” The obvious point here may be that the poem, or Collins’ poetry, does not know more that it readily professes. I do wonder if Collins is complaining a bit here about how is poetry is treated, or, perhaps, he is playing Cool Hand Luke, as in, “Please, don’t beat me no more boss.” I don’t read the poem as Collins suggesting no poem will reveal more upon further analysis, just that it isn’t necessary for all poems to be deeply analyzed.
Whatson from Samoa
Comment 1 of 2, added on January 26th, 2006 at 7:19 AM.
i really adore the ending.
karen from United States
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Comments
Upon reading this poem I iliadmetemy recalled something that a poet told me who once sat on a panel of poets with Billy Collins. It has been a while but what I recall in essence is that Collins is sensitive to criticism that his poetry appeals to the larger following he enjoys because his poetry is too simple. He felt that how hard he worked on his poetry to make it accessible was underappreciated. When I read this poem I hear a speaker entreating the reader to dive into the experience of the poem and to not miss the intended experience while looking for some multi-layered and intricate meaning—to enjoy the simple and obvious essence of the poem. What I love about this poem is its plea to the reader to enjoy the simple beauty of a poem in the same way we might enjoy a hummingbird. I don’t need, or want, a scientist to tell me how the hummingbird manages to be a hummingbird, or, better yet, how a bubble bee flies when it isn’t supposed to be able to fly. One particularly intriguing line for me in the poem is “waving at the author’s name on the shore.” Why would the speaker-poet not want the water skier to wave at the poet proper? Having asked that, I am satisfied Collins gave the matter a great deal of thought and that the answer may very well have to do with the desire to minimize the author while maximizing the experience of the poem.“They,” first appearing in the penultimate stanza, I suspect, are the critics that view Collins’ poetry as too simple. And I simply love the image of “beating it with a hose.” The obvious point here may be that the poem, or Collins’ poetry, does not know more that it readily professes. I do wonder if Collins is complaining a bit here about how is poetry is treated, or, perhaps, he is playing Cool Hand Luke, as in, “Please, don’t beat me no more boss.” I don’t read the poem as Collins suggesting no poem will reveal more upon further analysis, just that it isn’t necessary for all poems to be deeply analyzed.
Whatson from Samoa