Silence in the Snowy Fields by Robert Bly - Essay Example

College: Book Response In Robert Bly’s first widely applauded poetry collection, Silence in the Snowy Fields, the acclaimed poet stated that he is primarily “interested in the connection between poetry and simplicity.” The poet’s explicit statement points to the essence of a poem being simple enough to resonate with the audience and effectually deliver inspiration, without ulterior intellectual pretenses. Matthew Dickman impressively adheres to this poetry precept in his anthology All American Poem. The poet’s style is an epitome of nonacademic verse, which draws from conventional life experiences. The poems are easy and full of affective yearning, with which any reader can identify. Further, Dickman’s theme oriented composition makes it interesting for readers to discern crucial life lessons and get inspired to make amends where necessary. One predominant theme in All American Poem is “scraping for joy”, which this essay seeks to explore in greater detail. The first poem in Dickman’s collection, which explicitly addresses the theme of scraping for joy, is Slow Dance. The basic meaning of this phrase is that, people must strive to derive joy from every action they take or every experience they go through. Just like the poem title suggests, life should be a slow dance, where one soaks in every moment of happiness and avoids taking for granted the joyous aspects of life, however meager. Dickman’s poem is infused with a sense of pleasure and expectation, as one skims through the verse line by line. There is a promise of hope even in the most unexciting or demoralizing everyday activities. The poem is also emphatic on the need to eagerly grasp the relatively few moments of slow dancing with exquisite unfamiliar persons. Such acts in essence, constitute cheating life or coping with aspects of life that might seem too difficult or painful to handle. Dickman’s detailed description of ritual of slow dancing gives one, as a reader, insight into the need to live life easy and take in all the little joys. By drawing a reader’s attention to the purported mundane moments of life, and comparing these with the happy times people would enjoy if only they took the time, the poet is successfully convincing on the issue of scraping for joy. For instance, he points out mowing the lawn, making another person suffer, suffering from insomnia and even dying, as some of the negativities of life. The poet establishes juxtaposition of these negative aspects of life, with positive ones like the hope of an almond grove in pitch darkness, an oversexed chandelier instantly coming to life, and generally enjoying the process of spinning a beautiful dance partner around. Dickman conveys the message on taking advantage of life’s little incidences of happiness with a sense of urgency, effectively showing readers that there is no time to ponder whether to live joyously or keep brooding. For example, in the first line of the poem, Dickman indicates that, even before people strive to send another man to the moon, and even prior to making New Year resolutions such as healthy living through consumption of yogurt and enrolling in yoga classes, they need a chance to dance. These are undoubtedly actions that people engage in enthusiastically and with utmost dedication. By insisting that these activities should be superseded by a slow dance with exquisite strangers, Dickman conveys the exigency of taking the time to be happy. Another other phrase that shows the importance of embracing joy in daily activities of one’s life is the last line, “the haiku and honey.” Haiku is a short Japanese verse form, which features three short lines. Use of this statement, coupled with the word “honey” shows how fleeting moments of joy can be, if people choose to only embrace the negative elements of life. Dickman’s detailed description of the exquisite nature of the slow dance prompts one to imagine the numerous times we all take some things for granted. For example, one cannot help but think about the dancer’s hips unfolding just like a napkin made of cotton, how the sky is full of bright and still stars, as well as, the intimacy a person gets to enjoy when dancing with someone else. The thought of an unchained melody also prompts one to think of the joy brought about by unending mellow music, literally making a person imagine the “Stairway to Heaven”, mentioned by the poet. This clearly shows that, it is the intimacy wrought by moments spent slow dancing that is of paramount significance. Dancing with strangers is not of any importance and neither is the amount of time spent dancing. Rather, the physical closeness achieved during this slow dance or keen consideration of life’s joys, unlocks a person’s emotions, concerns, happy memories, and feelings of love for people close to the individual. In addition, an individual’s entire life, characterized by mundane routines, unavoidable complications, the promise of unyielding love, and inevitable death, becomes tolerable following the highly charged, albeit brief dancing moment. It is such surprising, stolen, and generally short-lived moments that can enable individuals to dwell in a different kind of reality, make new friends, briefly live in a moment of fantasy, and allow their minds to look for joy. On the whole, Slow Dance serves as a crucial reminder for people to avoid spitting the ritual of slow dance, embrace it despite the prevailing and projected suffering that is characteristic of human life, and strive to get joy from our everyday lives. It is imperative to note that Slow Dance is not the only poem in Matthew Dickman’s anthology that advocates for people’s dedication to embracing joyous moments, even in times of boredom, adversity or grief. For example, in Trouble, Dickman explores how numerous people committed suicide, with Marilyn Monroe taking pills, Crosby’s sons shooting themselves, and Marlon Brandon’s daughter hanging herself. Even though Dickman’s approach of highlighting these deaths seems horrific, he infuses humor, effectively showing that life still goes on even when there is immense pain. For example, it seems funny when Dickman states that the Crosby sons shot themselves out of the music industry forever. The poet further describes his brother’s suicide with ease, thus making the poem feel genuine and devoid of excessive sentiment. The irony and satire incorporated in the poem, shows, even though not as directly as in Slow Dance that people can choose to be happy even in the event of misery. The poem largely lacks bitterness and it effectively prompts one to try and embrace a happy life despite inevitable pain. The other Dickman poem that contravenes the disorienting aspects of life and calls upon happiness irrespective of the dire nature of situation is Grief. The poem describes how a person becomes accustomed to grief, since “she has been here before”. Nonetheless, even though the individual gets to a point where he recognizes “her” even as she gets closer to the house, he gradually learns to embrace her and actually make fun of the sad situation. Apparently, the character in poem gets consoled by grief, progressively realizing how irrational he has been by letting himself go and forgetting about the basic aspects of life like showering and eating. Further analysis reveals that the individual in question has even resorted to drinking and smoking, consequently diminishing the quality of his life. Even though this poem does not directly address the need for an individual to shun sadness and embrace happiness, it conveys this message by showing the negative results of excessively dwelling on sorrow. Further, conveyance of this poem on a light note places emphasis on the need to be happy despite the prevailing sad circumstances. Overall, Matthew Dickman’s All American Poem primarily conveys a message of resilience, hope, overcoming grief and embracing life’s little joys. This a particularly vital theme, since every moment of joy enables us cope with sorrow and increases our quality of life generally. Work Cited Dickman, Mathew. All American Poem. Philadelphia, PA:  American Poetry Review.2008. Print. Read More