Modern day poetry is still alive and well. Poets are coming out with original pieces everyday that can represent all different aspects of life. In order to enjoy poetry, I feel that it is important to both pick a poet you like/relate to and the be able to understand what the poet is talking about. In thinking this way, I was guided by this assignment to a poet named Charles Bernstein. In looking through Bernstein's work, I stumbled upon a piece called "Sad Boy's Sad Boy." Now obviously the title is a bit strange, but the abnormality in the title drew my attention and I was hooked from the moment I started reading.
I interpreted this poem as it being from the perspective of a sad dog who is owned by a sad man. The dog is constantly doing for his owners, yet the sad boy is too sad to realize it. The dog tries to excite the owner. He states "I jump and run you up inside the truck" in order to show some of the action he takes to get his owner going. The dog then says "I run my mats and try to make you glad." Now in my opinion, I fell this line is very powerful. Using the word glad creates a contrast between how both the dog and the boy are actually sad, yet neither are showing it to the other. That contrast is then cemented in the poem by the way of the next stanza. The dog states, "I jump my hopes and the ropes glide sad."
I really enjoyed this poem. I think Bernstein did an excellent job of creating contrasts in the character's actions while also exemplifying their characters. I feel like poetry has slipped out of the modern day pop culture. It is a breath of fresh air to see a powerful take on an old concept.
As someone who has not read this poem, that perspective sounds super interesting. I always think it's cool to see writers try to write as if they aren't themselves. And on top of that the writer chose to write as if they were an animal!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I haven't read this poem, from what you said this poem sounds very sad, but also interesting. I love how the poem also wrote in the perspective of both the dog and the boy, which reflects, in a way, how dogs are creatures that bring people joy in life.
ReplyDeleteThis poem sounds sad, but the perspective you took on it makes it interesting. It would for sure be cool if we could understand our pets' emotions.
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