tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post1299323769620863717..comments2024-03-27T11:02:20.107-07:00Comments on the prowling Bee: 'Twas warm — at first — like Us —Susan Kornfeldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-61711150087860277022024-01-08T13:43:09.852-08:002024-01-08T13:43:09.852-08:00Every time ED gives us a gift like this poem, with...Every time ED gives us a gift like this poem, with “no hint of repentance – nor of grace”, “a proud, bleak, cold-eyed work”, her courageous 1863 denial of resurrection astonishes, reminds us the human brain truly is “wider than the sky”. <br /><br />Of course, her next poem may contradict this one, state adamantly she will meet Wadsworth in heaven. And, of course, “the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function” (F. Scott Fitzgerald. February, 1936. ‘The Crack-Up’. Esquire magazine). After ED composed ‘'Twas warm — at first — like Us —', she composed 1165 more poems, many first-rate, so, if Fitzgerald was right, we can safely infer she had “first-rate intelligence”.Larry Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810899482852120751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-85407619947854204742023-11-17T11:07:45.497-08:002023-11-17T11:07:45.497-08:00Not much to add here except to appreciate your obs...Not much to add here except to appreciate your observations about the onomatopoeic alliteration in this poem. The first line really does sound warm and the barrage of K and D sounds really sound cold. I also love the way you tease out the meanings of adamant, both in its sound quality ("muffled by sod" is particularly good) and its meaning to the poem. It's a terrific move you make, seeing the "whiff of respect" for the demurring corpse as proudly adamant as a reflection of the cold-eyed stare of the poem itself. The poet and the corpse are, surprisingly, aligned in this way. I wouldn't have thought to connect the two. I believe I would've read this poem as merely judgmental of the proud and demurring had I not read your take, and if not judgmental, at least focused on the present warmth by contrast to the cold. Now I can see both, respect for the cold as well as gratitude for the warmth. d scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08242682202760522439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-73402443894373562152016-03-24T19:03:10.247-07:002016-03-24T19:03:10.247-07:00I agree -- but I think there is a whiff of respect...I agree -- but I think there is a whiff of respect, too. Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-46552911008360655032016-03-20T18:24:24.323-07:002016-03-20T18:24:24.323-07:00Adamant, hard, stiff - not warm like Us. There is ...Adamant, hard, stiff - not warm like Us. There is a thought of judgment, or Judgment Day in that.<br />Thanks for this blog, I'm just getting back to try to catch up!Erratichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01172371174541372809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-91435748994242826882016-03-20T18:24:17.448-07:002016-03-20T18:24:17.448-07:00Adamant, hard, stiff - not warm like Us. There is ...Adamant, hard, stiff - not warm like Us. There is a thought of judgment, or Judgment Day in that.<br />Thanks for this blog, I'm just getting back to try to catch up!Erratichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01172371174541372809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-36886131927459673932015-11-12T17:50:15.064-08:002015-11-12T17:50:15.064-08:00Thanks!Thanks!Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-3257081844076268612015-11-12T16:03:17.220-08:002015-11-12T16:03:17.220-08:00 An outstanding discussion of a wonderful poem... An outstanding discussion of a wonderful poem! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com