Mary+Peninger-Naomi+Nye


 * Naomi Nye **

__ March 26, 2012 __ // Famous // Visual

The river is famous to the fish.

The loud voice is famous to silence, which knew it would inherit the earth before anybody said so.

The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds watching him from the birdhouse.

The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.

The idea you carry close your bosom is famous to your bosom.

The boot is famous to the earth, more famous than the dress shoe, which is famous only to floors.

The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it and is not at all famous to the one who is pictured.

I want to be famous to shuffling men who smile while crossing streets, sticky children in grocery lines, famous as the one who smiled back.

I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous, or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular, but because it never forgot what it could do.

Explication: This poem ultimately reveals the idea that the narrator does not want to be forgotten. The tone of the poem is definitely hopeful. The word “famous” is repeated excessively and is used at least once in each stanza. The stanza breaks are used to divide the specific objects that are “famous.”

The first line, “The river is famous to the fish,” initiates the poem with simplicity. This line is very easy for the reader to understand. The reader immediately grasps the basic concept of this poem. It is evident that the fish rely on the river. The emphases are on the words “river,” “famous” and “fish.” The fact that the meaning of this line is so obvious ultimately helps the reader understand the messages of the future lines.

The second stanza starts out with contrast. “Loud” and “silence” clearly contradict each other and that is exactly why the “loud voice” is “famous” to the “silence.” “Inherit” is an interesting word to choose. Immediately I thought of it as the “loud voice” luckily fell into receiving the earth, but it differs. Nye actually means to say that the “loud voice” took the earth for itself, hence why the voice stands out. The voice has ambition (which is noted when Nye said that it knew “before anybody said so”).

The next stanza that speaks about the cat and birds emphasizes the idea that the cat is famous because it is foreign to the community of birds and not because it is making an outrageous statement. It is famous for being itself.

The fourth stanza emphasizes the word “briefly.” This line explains how even though the life of something (like a tear) is quick and short, it can still leave a significant impact.

The fifth stanza uses the idea of an idea and bosom as a sort of metaphor for a person and their home. This theme is almost continued in the sixth stanza. The difference, however, is that the sixth stanza also mentions the purpose of the shoes. A boot and dress shoes are contrasted by the mention of where their purpose is. Boots are supposed better known because they can be used on terrains around the world. Dress shoes are limited to nicer floors. The narrator writes this in explanation of how she hopes to be remembered by the extended purposes in her life and not just for one action.

The next stanza ultimately brings in the idea of an impact. It kind of relates back the line about the tear on the cheek. The picture mentioned is carried because it means something to the carrier. The word “bent” conveys the idea that the picture has been carried for so long that it is beginning to look worn.

The last two stanzas reflect on what the narrator truly wants. She wants to mean something to someone and she wants to be noticed for being her. She wants to be remembered for her being her and not a “spectacular” action. “Spectacular” is isolated in order to contrast the concluding line.

// Shoulders // // [|Visual] //

A man crosses the street in rain, stepping gently, looking two times north and south, because his son is asleep on his shoulder.

No car must splash him. No car drive too near to his shadow.

This man carries the world’s most sensitive cargo but he’s not marked. Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE, HANDLE WITH CARE.

His ear fills up with breathing. He hears the hum of a boy’s dream deep inside him.

We’re not going to be able to live in this world if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing with one another.

The road will only be wide. The rain will never stop falling.

Explication: This poem speaks about responsibility. The idea of a father and son is merely an elaborate metaphor. The tone is almost a kind of nagging (begging people to feel responsibility for others). Every other stanza also has a sort of parallel beginning. 2: “No car” and “No car.” 4: “His ear” and “He hears.” 6: “The road will” and “the rain will.”

The imagery in the first stanza causes you to visualize yourself as a man who holds his son on his shoulders with care. The lack of description of the man makes you focus less on the identity of the father and son and more on the example that the father sets. The word gently is significant in the second line because it emphasizes the idea that he should not wake “his son/asleep on his shoulder.” The son’s safety is more important to the man than his own comfort.

In the second stanza, the repeated phrase “No car” shows the authoritative stance that the father takes as he carries his boy. He feels as if it is his responsibility to control the traffic around him.

The next stanza highlights the importance of the boy to the man. The fact that the man is “not marked,” but he feels as if the boy is “FRAGILE” shows how even though the boy may not be important to all of society, he is important to the man. The capitalization of “FRAGILE, HANDLE…” emphasizes that blatant love the man has for his son.

Sensory imagery plays a large part in the fourth stanza. It focuses on touch and hearing. This stanza makes the boy feel real to the reader. The thought of being able to hear the boy’s dream stresses the fact that the man truly knows the son.

This next stanza is where the message comes through in the poem. Nye switches the major character from the man to us (“he” to “we”). Nye speaks about how we rely on other helping us. We need to be aware that we have responsibilities to others.

The final stanza references back to the first stanza that speaks about the rain and the street. It ultimately means that even though we will be faced with obstacles, we will still need to put others first.

__April 13, 2012__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//The Rider// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//[|Visual] boy// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//[|Visual 2] girl//

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">A boy told me <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">if he roller-skated fast enough <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">his loneliness couldn't catch up to him,

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">the best reason I ever heard <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">for trying to be a champion.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">What I wonder tonight <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">pedaling hard down King William Street <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">is if it translates to bicycles.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">A victory! To leave your loneliness panting behind you on some street corner <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">while you float free into a cloud of sudden azaleas, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">pink petals that have never felt loneliness, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">no matter how slowly they fell.

Explication: This poem, like most of Nye’s poetry, attempts to inspire and bring hope to the reader. She focuses on giving the reader hope for getting out of solitude. The stanzas separate Nye’s story and her reactions/thoughts. “Loneliness” is repeated three times throughout the poem. The entire poem is in first person to show her direct thoughts on this subject.

The first line initiates the personification of solitude. The “boy” mentioned is supposed to represent loneliness. Diction plays a large part in the second line; “if” implies that the boy may not be able to escape loneliness and “enough,” following fast, also reiterates the idea that he has to get to a certain point to overcome loneliness. The third line brings in the idea that loneliness is following him around and he is eager to get rid of it. These three lines make up the entire story that is the foundation for the rest of the poem.

This next stanza begins to pull in Nye’s personal reflections. She feels that the boy is having a race with loneliness and he needs to “be a champion.” Nye feels that his reason to win this race is “the best reason [she has] ever heard.” This is significant because it shows the meaning behind the boy’s race.

Nye begins to ponder how this race could apply to her in stanza three. “Tonight” in the first line implies that she is eager to abandon her solitude as quickly as possible. This boy has inspired her just as she hopes to inspire us. “Pedaling hard” refers back to how the boy “roller-skated fast” in order to escape loneliness with speed. She hopes that since the boy escaped his loneliness on his wheels, that she can escape her loneliness on her wheels (bicycle). “If” once again implies that she is unsure of her ability to escape her loneliness.

The final stanza sums up the tone and concepts of the other three stanzas. “Victory” refers back to “champion.” “Victory” is exclaimed because it is such a success to escape loneliness. The reason that the boy is called a “champion” is because the likelihood of a success if very low. “Panting” in the next line brings back the idea of a race. The boy/Naomi Nye has out pedaled the loneliness chasing them. Once free of the loneliness, you should feel as free as petals from azaleas. The petals are completely free from loneliness even though they fall slowly. Once free of loneliness, we should be able to remain at whatever pace we want.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//So Much Happiness// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Visual] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Nye Reading Poem]

It is difficult to know what to do with so much happiness. With sadness there is something to rub against, A wound to tend with lotion and cloth. When the world falls in around you, you have pieces to pick up, Something to hold in your hands, like ticket stubs or change.

But happiness floats. It doesn't need you to hold it down. It doesn't need anything. Happiness lands on roof of the next house, singing, And disappears when it wants to. You are happy either way. Even thte fact that you once lived in a peaceful tree house And now live over a quarry of noise and dust Cannot make you unhappy. Everything has a life of its own, It too could wake up filled with possibilities Of coffee cake and ripe peaches, And love even the floor which needs to be swept, The soiled linens and scratched records...

Since there is no place large enough To contain so much happiness, You shrug, you raise your hands, and it flows out of you Into everything you touch. You are not responsible. You take no credit, as the night sky takes no credit For the moon, but continues to hold it, and to share it, And in that way, be known.

Explication: This poem takes a different tone than Nye’s other poetry. This one focuses more on making sure that the reader appreciates happiness. This talks mainly about how one may notice sadness much more than happiness, yet people should treasure the happiness that they are blessed with.

The first stanza describes the differences of happiness and sadness. It especially focuses on the tangibility of sadness. Happiness is initially described almost as if it is a confusing thing to handle. The next four lines use a sort of imagery that causes the reader to feel the sadness. The use of the phrase “rub against” makes it seem as though when sadness is present it is so close to you that you can feel it. Sadness will hang on you and becomes a burden. Nye describes sadness as the “world fall[ing] in around you” and now you have to fix it. You cannot merely leave sadness the way it is; you have to attempt to bring yourself back to happiness. It is described as a physical injury (“wound”) that needs fixing. Because sadness is viewed as a burden, Nye uses “ticket stubs” and “change” to illustrate the idea that sadness is a nuisance. No one appreciates going through their pockets, cars or purses and finding superfluous change and paper in excess.

The second stanza shows the differences in happiness in sadness in the opposite way; instead of focusing on the negativity of sadness, it focuses on the positivity of happiness. The word “floats” contrasts with the idea of the world falling in around you. Sadness needs attention in order to be fixed (“to tend with lotion and cloth”) while happiness “doesn’t need anything.” The next six lines (“Happiness lands…you unhappy”) talks about how happiness might be evident at times, but it can also be very subtle at others. The fortunate thing, however, is that “you are happy either way.” The obviousness of the happiness does not determine if you are happy or not, you are merely happy. The final lines of the stanza bring in imagery to describe how happiness can be found in all situations (ones that seem positives and ones that seem negative).

The final stanza concludes the poem by mentioning the extremeness of happiness. This description of happiness contrasts the initial description of sadness. Sadness is known to “rub against” you, but happiness is said to “flow out of you.” As opposed to being forced upon you, happiness pleasantly overwhelms you so much that it “flows out of you.” Nye says that we are not the reason for our own happiness, but that happiness comes to you and expects to be put on display (this is described in the sky-moon metaphor). Ultimately, if you are blessed enough to be happy, you should share it in a way that everyone can see and take notice of its beauty.