CLEOPATRA MATHIS’ “THE TRAVELER”


WHAT IMAGES DOES THIS POEM BRING TO MIND? OR DOES THE POEM ASSIGN BLAME TO A PERSON?


 


            Cleopatra Mathis’ “The Traveler” speaks of one woman’s feelings towards a man who left her, a man who seems to be constantly traveling from one woman to another. The woman in the poem is nostalgic as the she seems to recall her past experiences with this traveler of a man. This is being triggered by the fact that it was raining that day, the same as the day that he left her. However, this woman does not feel pity for herself. She seems to be angry and is assigning blame to the man not only for her experience but also those of the other women this man has been with. In a way she also seems to be warning the other women against this man.


This poem brings to mind countless images of women who were left by their men and men who seem to be discontented with one woman and thus like a bee travels from one flower to another. These men fail to consider that unlike flowers; women are more complex and have feelings. Or perhaps they knew but did it deliberately anyway, thinking only of their selves. Women, on their part, sometimes go to unreasonable points if their man left them. Such is the case described in the poem where she sliced the length of her fingers
with a blade. She seems to be bitter, this woman in the poem, but she also seems to be strong. These are images presented in the poem which are reflected in real life.


ELISAVIETTA RITCHIE’S “AWAITING PERMISSION TO LAND”


WHAT VISUAL IMAGES ARE PRESENTED? OR WHAT IS THE SYMBOLISM OF A HAWK, A HELICOPTER, OR A FAT DIRIGIBLE?


 


            “Awaiting Permission to Land” is a collection of poems by Elisavietta Ritchie. Among the poems included in the collection is “In Transit.” In this poem, life is likened to something that hovers up above like a hawk or a helicopter and waits for some permission to land. The visual images presented in the poem consist of objects in the air and not touching the ground. It visualizes that it is best to stay suspended in the air than stay on land. It also presents a visual image that up there affords a fascinating view. The author seems to think that it is best to stay suspended because that has been what life was all about and to change it would present facing an uncertain future. Although the author fears anything that might create harm up there, it doesn’t outweigh the uncertainty felt on the other option of being on land. There are doubts about a passport being challenged and a question of survival. The author likened life to something that is always in motion, always on the go, always in transit. It wants to get permission to land, yet it is hesitant, and thinks that up there may be cold and tricky but it affords a great view.




Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com


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