Fetch? Balls and sticks capture my attention
seconds at a time. Catch? I don’t think so.
Bunny, tumbling leaf, a squirrel who’s—oh
joy—actually scared. Sniff the wind, then
I’m off again: muck, pond, ditch, residue
of any thrillingly dead thing. And you?
Either you’re sunk in the past, half our walk,
thinking of what you never can bring back,
or else you’re off in some fog concerning
—tomorrow, is that what you call it? My work:
to unsnare time’s warp (and woof!), retrieving,
my haze-headed friend, you. This shining bark,
a Zen master’s bronzy gong, calls you here,
entirely, now: bow-wow, bow-wow, bow-wow.
I really feel that the use of quick phrases and words make the true mindset of animals come through in this poem. By using brief and simple wording, Mark Doty conveys the playful, distracted attitude of golden retrievers. However, he makes the poem try to go deep, but like a dog, it never really gets anywhere farther than "a Zen master's bronzy gong, calls you here, entirely" showing that the dog's whole self is in his actions.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest this is one of the most visual poems I have ever read. The uneven sentences really make it more of a imaged piece instead of just a reading. I like how it is set of the perspective of the Golden Retriever because we imagine what the life of a dog would be like and it is interesting to see what other people perspectives are. Doty uses comical diction that describes the amusements of dogs, and how easily they get distracted with the "smell" of things.
ReplyDeleteThe poem gives the idea that you are seeing what is going through the dog's mind by expressing thought such as "Catch? I don't think so" then it shows that the mind of the dog is fast pace and constantly changing what is attention is on through the sequence of unrelated nouns "Bunny, tumbling leaf, a squirrel"
ReplyDeleteThe playful and content diction captures the thought of a loyal Labrador. The short and quick sentences portray how a dog's mind wanders constantly from one thought to the next. At when point the dog is thing of how fetching "balls and stick" that capture his attention. Then a moment later he mind lingers over the thought of a "bunny, tumbling leaf, a squirrel." I love dogs and that's why i enjoy reading this poem because it attempts to create the perspective of a dog's daily routine.
ReplyDeleteDoty's childish, and humble diction supports his own feelings of discontent towards his Labrador. He shows his love for "this shining bark," to refer to his love of animals, specifically dogs. However, the speaker reveals malcontent for features in dogs as well. He directly speaks about the dog as "either you’re sunk in the past, half our walk." He appears to be dissatisfied with the limitations of his Labrador. Doty's average diction and playful sounds in his poem allude to his passion, yet dissatisfaction with dogs.
ReplyDeleteDoty's simple and descriptive languave reveals images a dog has and the short attnetion span. "Fetch? Balls and sticks capture my attention seconds at a time. Catch? I don’t think so. Bunny, tumbling leaf, a squirrel who’s—oh joy—actually scared," reveals that the dog has a very shor attention span. He is not interested in somthing for very long. This reminds me of little kids and how they also have a short attention span and how they can change there minds a lot. Overall a very interesting poem definitly one of my favorites.
ReplyDelete