Coffee Musings - 031307

Happy Birthday, Mom! I was thinking of my sense of place. Pablo Neruda has consistent images throughout some of his poetry. In his later poetry there are many references to wheat. I haven't read his earlier poetry that much, but it is definitely present in his later poetry, particularly when he writes about Matilde, his wife. Wheat represents his homeland, Chile. Matilde is from there, also, and often he describes her as wheat or at least the word wheat is in a description to her. It adds to the poetry to find the common link. It goes beyond one poem. To find the common theme, I have to read many poems. However, by doing this, by finding the links, I can figure out more about the person. The focus must be the art, but if someone is passionate about a subject, how he/she defines his/her sense of place, then the description will be present in many manifestations of that person's art.

I was thinking that the highway means a lot to me. It means freedom, it means NJ, home, yet a way from a temporary home. Growing up if there was nothing to do, or if the attitude was, let's do something, the first thing was to get in a car. I walked around a lot so maybe that's why part of me didn't always fit in. However, I LOVED those car drives with friends or siblings that were on the highway, and just going.

I am reading a book of poetry by Linda Hogan Savings, and I've read other books written by her. Her sense of place is very strong throughout her poetry. What's interesting is that sometimes when I'm in a cafe reading a book of poetry, I get a flash of inspiration and I write inside the book. Since I moved to the DC area in 2003 I haven't been to cafes much as I actually like my apartment, but I found something I wrote inside Savings. It was probably written in the summer 2003:

The Three Heats of Summer

The heat that can't be viewed too long
marking stripes along your arms.
Playing guessing games
beneath trees' shade.

The heat of cars
at a red streetlight.
You're walking faster
than the man in the porsche
can light his cigarette.
You feel powerful moving foward.

The heat of What's next?
Are you prepared to drive?
Are you prepared to walk?
Are you prepared to stand still
listening?