After Years
Ted Kooser
Today, from a distance, I saw youwalking away, and without a sound
the glittering face of a glacier
slid into the sea. An ancient oak
fell in the Cumberlands, holding only
a handful of leaves, and an old woman
scattering corn to her chickens looked up
for an instant. At the other side
of the galaxy, a star thirty-five times
the size of our own sun exploded
and vanished, leaving a small green spot
on the astronomer's retina
as he stood on the great open dome
of my heart with no one to tell.
from Solo: A Journal of Poetry,
I am not sure what to make of this poem. I found two totally different ideas about what the poem is about. I find it remarkable to read how confidently each person explains what the poem means, but who but the poet can really know what was intended. That is what makes poetry so special. How one interprets a poem depends on what life experiences one brings to it and also what one needs to take from it. Perhaps you would like to compare the two essays.
analysis one
analysis two
I am not sure what to make of this poem. I found two totally different ideas about what the poem is about. I find it remarkable to read how confidently each person explains what the poem means, but who but the poet can really know what was intended. That is what makes poetry so special. How one interprets a poem depends on what life experiences one brings to it and also what one needs to take from it. Perhaps you would like to compare the two essays.
analysis one
analysis two
1 comment:
I don't know Ted Kooser. But to me, this poem is about either marriage or a long lasting relationship. Of course, the title is a clue. The poet is addressing the person he is sharing his life with. He is talking at once to someone he knows and to a stranger ---and the fascination toward that loved one never stops. And there is that distant place where the other cannot enter, no matter how intimate the relationship. At times the familiar becomes a cold place. Until one analyzes it, travels it, and goes back into the discovery mode. Rediscovering the partner, the loved one.
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