I came upon this poem by accident, actually. I was going to read another on page 803, but somehow ended up on this one. I'm wondering why poetry gives me more questions than answers!
This is a very interesting poem. When I first started reading it, I immediately knew it was talking about a rifle's parts (I am a hunter, after all!). But then, at the end of each stanza, there is a reference to gardens, flowers, bees. The fourth stanza is the only one that really makes sense to me in regards to comparison between the rifle & nature.
"And this you can see is the bolt. The purpose of this
Is to open the breech, as you see. We can slide it
Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this
Easing the spring. And rapidly backwards and forwards
The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers:
They call it easing the Spring." (Reed 806 19-24)
The play on words with regards to spring and the bees with the flowers makes sense to me, but the other references in the poem are a bit confusing.
I wonder why he chose gardens, flowers, and bees to compare with the rifle. It seems such a "soft" comparison since rifles are "manly" and "hard".
Another poem that was easy for me to read, and therefore, I liked it! Even if every reference didn't exactly make sense, the overall "point" of the poem was evident.
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Hi, again, Tonya. I really like this poem, too. I think the contrasting images between the functions of the gun and the gardens suggest the contrast between the acts of soldiers and the life of nature. Does it mean that war is an assault on nature, or that nature will survive the violence? I don't know. Nancy
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