All the old symtoms by Arlo Quint
http://www.bostonreview.net/poets-sampler-arlo-quint
The poem makes me think about a pirate ship. "Our
ladies of Sorrow" sounds like the ship's name. The crew is caught up in a
storm, a mutiny is taking place, and they fight over scribbles on a scrap of
paper (perhaps a treature map). They blame each other for the mess they're in.
"Delirious wild empie and tremple" could refer to winds and lighting
while "washed out in tears dark paintings" refers to the harsh waves.
The ship is caught in a maze; they will soon approach their resting place.
I got more of a "sailor" vibe from it. Less pirates I guess.
ReplyDeleteI mean, ever met a sailor? Those guys are depressed as nuts. At least themes on the commercial ships. Maybe small-town, small boat fishermen feel better about themselves. I don't know yet.
This made me think of death in war. The imagry evokes very dark loss of life and the attempts to rationalize the irrational: the need to go to war then the regret and blame of sending someone off to die. It is dark and deep and quite though provoking.
ReplyDeleteGlancing through the article above the poem about the poet Arlo Quint, it's interesting to note that most of his poems tend to not focus on any given world in which to invite the reader in but try to invoke the experiences that we all share. This particular poem seems to be about the experiences in writing or art as the poet mentions painting and writing and the part "blaming it's shoe while the foot is guilty" makes me think of how an artist may blame the tool that they use instead of their own lack of ability
ReplyDeleteThe ship seems to be meaning something else, life and death maybe. The title itself "Down the ship she goes", makes me think about the saying "Captain going down with the ship", everyone is a captain of their own lives, and the ship could be the choices and things we do in our lives and generally who we are! So down the ship she goes, could be a very wind about way of explaining that we go down with who we choose to be as people! going down meaning death. OR SOMETHING IM NOT SURE ANYMORE.
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