“Twelve in Yellow-Weed at the Edge” by Cynthia Cruz
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/56951 Apologies to those who had to “suffer” through my last blog post, it got away from me a bit… or a lot. The brain is a strange wandering place not a “book to be opened at will and examined at leisure.” Couldn’t resist quoting a little bit of Snape there but anyways, upon first glance at this poem I feel kind of hollow inside. Everything seems so desolate and wasted. This world created for the sake of expressing emotions pulls me in and seems to suck out my very interior. This world was so beautifully crafted by the vivid images it expresses. The poem starts abruptly with the arrival of police. Immediately a million questions run through my head.What happened? Why was it important the person not be found? What would have happened if the person had been found? Now that’s the way to start, well... almost anything. I was immediately captured and held prisoner by my inquiries, prompting me to read further. After this dramatic beginning, the parade of images does not end. There is a strong overtone of the color yellow, brought out by describing the girl’s disguise as “champagne” and the Appalachia wind as “gold.” To me this conjures up images of wide, empty grass plains, places where you can literally see the wind, places perfect for concealing individuals, whole communities, and even secrets. The view zooms out at this point, no longer focused on just the hiding of the girl, but her surroundings. She seems to be a part of a trailer park community, suggesting she and her family are in a poor situation. The trailer park is referred to as “the poor girl’s underworld” implying that you need to be well off to go to the “proper underworld.” It’s interesting to me that Cruz uses the word “underworld” instead of “hell.” Underworld has a much more neutral connotation, it could be good or bad or even both to go there depending upon what you believe. It seems to me that this girl doesn’t view her poor situation as explicitly good or bad, just existing. This apathy, I guess you could call it, adds to the overall emptiness and desolation of the poem. Zoom out more. It’s nighttime. The stars are described as a “kingdom of lanterns.” Could there be a more accurate description of a clear night sky? A lantern dimmer than a lightbulb as the stars are dimmer than the sun. A kingdom with each star represented by a single subject with what I would like to believe the moon ruling over them all. Usually night offers a concealing blanket. Night is time for things that would be too dangerous to do during daylight. It appears the hiders, including the girl, are using the cover of night to protect their secrets. Their plight is brought back to the foreground in the next line, “how we waited, how we hid.” The “we” is where the idea of a few or maybe even many people hiding came from. The structure of these two simple three word phrases seems to stretch the waiting and hiding out over an endless time period. I have no idea how long they were hiding for, but I get the idea that it seemed to be an eternity. Now we’ve reached the final line. “Like wolves, in the revolving question of a field.” I’m hit with the image of wolves lurking in a grass field before preying on some small unsuspecting creature. I feel like this projects a better idea of how the hiders felt while waiting for whatever was coming. The final question, what was coming? It may be the threat of police as brought up at the beginning of the poem. But the final phrase is intriguing. It seems the question, the threat one may say, is constantly changing, constantly evolving to instill despair and hopelessness in those seeking protection from it. Even after all this analyzing I still feel despair and desolation. The power of this poem is in its description that builds a dome around you and entraps you in this golden grass, dark, uncertain world. Perhaps this is a reflection of our lives. There are constant and ever changing threats. We take solace in the cover of darkness. We hide our true selves or disguise ourselves to “protect” our innermost thoughts. And with that knowledge, maybe now we can answer those pestering questions still invading my brain and yours.
5 Comments
12/2/2016 07:18:22 am
Real powerful stuff! The poem feels like snapshots of raw events rather than an edited feature length feel, which give off a feeling of simple, pure humanity. I absolutely agree with your analysis of the emotions of fear and despair that run rampant through this particular piece like fire. But I find myself left, perhaps strangely, with a sense of hope. Yes, now we must hide and conceal ourselves as that which we are not; yes, now we are surrounded by wolves and carnies (*internal shudder*), and yes, for now we are bathed in the cool, uncaring cloak of night. Call me naive, but I often find it is darkest before dawn, that we can one day return to the fields of gold. Do you too think this eventuality is possible, or is their a finality to our damnation?
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Brianna
12/2/2016 07:35:06 am
I think the most frightening part of it is the uncertainty of the threat so while they may be safe now, who knows about tomorrow.
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Claire
12/5/2016 08:46:56 am
I totally agree that the dramatics of the beginning help to keep the reader interested. Who wouldn't be sucked in once they read that the police are involved? The rush you get from this feeling of urgency is so simple yet completely captivating. The emotions you experienced while reading are almost primal, like the fight or flight response.
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Erica
12/9/2016 07:57:17 am
I agree as well as Claire, the decision of fight or flight to stay safe. The poem does have a dramatic effect as to where it seems like a thought of reality. This is how some people have to live their lives which isn't the best days of their lives, but if it makes them safe or feel like their doing the right thing is what matters. I felt that the poem relates to my life, not to me, but to some one in my family which is a scary fact that she hid to stay safe at night and not know where she's going throughout the day.
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6/17/2023 10:36:13 am
This is usually a superb posting, With thanks to get allowing people this review. Continue to keep writing.
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