Geese

[Wjames]

“I am fire and air; my other elements 

I give to baser life”

– Cleopatra, "Antony and Cleopatra" (scene ii), by William Shakespeare



A Blizzard

like powdered amnesia

hushes land and sky-- 



horizon's lost all meaning. An interesting image and idea - there is only what is immediately in front of you in a blizzard, there is no distance or thought beyond the present. This opening is strengthend by the title and the rest of the poem - the blizzard is the flock of geese?



This isn’t a noble place

but the soil is red

and sometimes the river freezes over in gold

like god is an artery cut through our centre   This sounds very nice - but I don't quite understand it. Is the river supposed to be god? I don't know if the reader is supposed to understand it - it is still good without a clear meaning.



and still people work

descending through the days 

like geese in perfect pitch

of pale plumes and snowfall. This is very nice - I'm not sure if 'pitch' is the right word in the previous line, though. Is it supposed to mean the angle of descent? When I first read it my mind immediately went to music which sort of aligns with 'descending' but that doesn't really work in any other way.



Our history is the history of falling,

                and violence,

      and love,   

the soil is red

and everywhere the earth screamed so loud


it lost its voice

again and again This is very nice.



I give to baser life. Interesting ending - are the geese baser life, or are we?

“I am fire and air; my other elements 

I give to baser life”

– Cleopatra, "Antony and Cleopatra" (scene ii), by William Shakespeare



Descend

in perfect pitch 

of pale plumes and snowfall

              

          at last horizon’s lost



all meaning   this isn’t a noble place

but sometimes the river freezes over in gold

like god is an artery

cut through our centre     and still

people work    here    like everywhere     everyday

like geese    it’s true   

   our history is the history of falling

       and violence

and love     everywhere    the earth screamed so loud 

it lost its voice     again and again

I give to baser life

I enjoyed reading this - I don't know if I really 'get it', but I don't know if that matters. I'm not overly familiar with Shakespeare outside of what little I read in High School, so that could impact my read as well.

I think the poem has been dramatically improved since the version in the spoiler as well.