It's hard to say what happened on that night By weaving highway traffic heading home, Our scholar standing in the dark, alone Cars flashing like some dreadful metronome. Him or his madness indicating then That helpless schlub It’d chosen from afar, In desperation, fate, or force of will, He steps towards the mercy of that car. All this of course meant little to me when Just on a whim his Poetry & Age Was rescued from the silverfish, half priced, Discovered like lost work by some great sage. I have it still (now held with rubber bands) A frightful thing; the critic armor-clad Demanding quality should light the way— Like Shaw I felt that reason drove you mad. Your sense that man by words could be redeemed, That things the world made ugly could be still As noble as when life was still at play, Conveyed through verse’s calculated thrill. Why suicide, we'll likely never know. From under rocks those writers you gave hell Crawled out, that night bad poets could rejoice: At last they need not dread Randall Jarrell.
I wasn't sure about it reading it first thing in the morning but now that I've woken up I do enjoy the story telling aspect. You have the bit with his suicide and then the personal story of discovering him.
Hadn't heard of him until this poem, so I read a little about him. There's something in him that feels universal. Nice rhythm with this one. I particularly liked the 5th stanza, and the line about Shaw.
I like the use of language throughout the poem—it's expressive and led me throughout.
I thought it was interesting to read together every last verse from each part.
For it all seemed to go together even more so at least that's what I gathered.
Thank you, im so glad you liked it.
The subject matter is so obscure im surprised by the positive response.
I wasn't sure about it reading it first thing in the morning but now that I've woken up I do enjoy the story telling aspect. You have the bit with his suicide and then the personal story of discovering him.
Hadn't heard of him until this poem, so I read a little about him. There's something in him that feels universal. Nice rhythm with this one. I particularly liked the 5th stanza, and the line about Shaw.
I loved writing it but Im not expecting it to set the world on fire. No one except a certain generation of American academics know who he is anymore.
He meant a lot to me though.