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3/7
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Of Poetry and Protest: 114-158:
Coiled Serpent: Laningham, 172, Hearle, 138, Ceballos, 262;
Breakbeat: Ford, 87+, Moore, 70
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Consider who in a broader context and then look at the work –
historically, politically
)
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Kevin
James Hearle’s poem “Water and Power” was a powerful piece that seemed to
highlight the United States, or more specifically, Los Angeles’ wasteful use of
resources, especially water. I have often heard many speak of the lawn as a
metaphor for the falsity of greenery and a wealth of nature. We waste water on
creating green space to make our cities seem more “natural”, when in reality,
lawn provides nothing for the environment, and rather, only takes resources away.
There are no wildflowers to pollinate, to trees to give shelter, no bushes to
give fruit. Lawn is merely for appearances, and the water is wasted on its
uselessness, and changes the landscape to one not fitting of its natural
inhabitants, both plant, animal, and human, but to one ready to be gentrified.
Haley Laningham’s
poem hold themes of the feeling of time slowing, and even stopping, after a
traumatic event. The poem tells the story of a major earthquake in Los Angeles.
She describes it as coming out of nowhere, likening it to the every day shock
of waking to an alarm clock. She then takes the time to describe what creates
an earth quake: two tectonic plates crashing together, before describing the
devastation that occurs after. This creates an image of slowing time for me, as
she takes the time to describe things one by one, carefully and unrushed. She
then describes a family, holding each other in this time of fear and
devastation, as if they were their own planet. This was particularly powerful
for me, because it shows how people can come together in times of great need.
It shows human compassion and caring, much different from “Water and Power”
which describes human nature’s tendency to overuse and waste.
Dani,
ReplyDeleteThe "Water and Power" poem stuck to me as well, but I hadn't thought too deeply about it until reading your post."Lawn provides nothing for the environment, and rather, only takes resources away" to me rang like a metaphor for class power and white privilege. My thoughts reading your comment about lawns immediately went to thinking about how the appearance of lawns in their clean and pristine state 1. totally aide in ruining the ecosystem in that they waste water, and for the lack of a better word, displace insects that are super important pollinators for the earth; which reminds me of settler colonialism and how Europeans basically conquered land and took over resources and didn't care about how that would effect who and what was already there. And 2. I thought about the people that actually maintain lawns, the working class landscapers and often immigrants and day laborers that have to do all the work that it takes to keep such a pristine green square in the front and back yard of whoever's middle class home it is.
Great to see you tackling the craft of the poem in these two pieces and relating them to the story and the environment behind them. I particularly appreciate how you show the macro (LA) and the micro (the family) are examined. Nicely donne Dani
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