tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post3337940682488364682..comments2024-03-29T00:07:13.458-07:00Comments on the prowling Bee: Most she touched me by her muteness —Susan Kornfeldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-53452106138247240082023-10-11T17:29:08.524-07:002023-10-11T17:29:08.524-07:00What good fortune, pleasure, honor, & stimulus...What good fortune, pleasure, honor, & stimulus to participate in this blog, such a bright spot to anticipate each day. Is there a Nobel Prize in blogs? I nominate Susan Kornfeld!<br /><br />“But the Crumb partook — departed —<br />And returned On High —” <br /><br />As a backyard birder, there’s one clue in the poem that strongly suggests the bird is a chickadee, not a wren or other species. Unlike many birds that gorge themselves at the bird feeder and then fly away, chickadees almost always come to the feeder, take one seed, fly away to eat it in a safer place, and repeat until they’re full. No other species does this so predictably.<br /><br />PS. Chickadees are anything but mute if they decide you’re obnoxious. They scream “chick-a-dee, dee, dee, dee, etc. until the cows come home.<br />Larry Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810899482852120751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-28617226371764989732015-04-06T05:18:35.128-07:002015-04-06T05:18:35.128-07:00So, yes, I do recommend it.So, yes, I do recommend it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-10710325084850426042015-04-06T05:17:06.208-07:002015-04-06T05:17:06.208-07:00Cody was a psychoanalyst, who uses Freudian ideas ...Cody was a psychoanalyst, who uses Freudian ideas to shine a light on ED's relationship with her mother. He examines images from her poems that express her emotional starvation and longing for love. Cody writes well, but the caveat I bring to his argument, being a psychiatrist myself---not Freudian---is defining a person by psychopathology, as opposed, for example, by genius, though these can be very much the same, and In ED's case, seem to be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-91353540522573530002015-04-05T10:50:09.208-07:002015-04-05T10:50:09.208-07:00I hadn't heard of this book -- do you recommen...I hadn't heard of this book -- do you recommend it?Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-80865715451683939382015-04-05T06:28:52.524-07:002015-04-05T06:28:52.524-07:00Reading John Cody's book After Great Pain, in ...Reading John Cody's book After Great Pain, in its shadow I see ED as the bird pleading for a crumb that ED's mother feeds her. ED flies away, letting herself sing in gratitude. The sad irony: starved by her mother's affections, ED could feed the world her song.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-81361415933074068922013-08-14T10:54:24.710-07:002013-08-14T10:54:24.710-07:00I was, in fact, thinking of that saying of Christ ...I was, in fact, thinking of that saying of Christ and also of the thought that there are angels among us hidden as beggars or other cast-offs. I don't know why I left off that train of thought ... but now that you've reminded me of it, I agree that this is the more important idea: a gift freely given and an unexpected blessing in return. I love the alliteration (as well as the image) of "Space sat singing."<br /> Thanks for your thoughtful comment.<br />Susan Kornfeldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-37829731031896755582013-08-14T09:21:28.169-07:002013-08-14T09:21:28.169-07:00What strikes me most about this poem is the contra... What strikes me most about this poem is the contrast of muteness with the sudden heavenly outburst of song. The poet's first reaction to the bird is to its silence, as if the silence were a metaphor or symbol of the bird's poverty. The silence inspires a gift. The bird disappears. And then suddenly, unexpectedly, a song as if "Space sat singing". <br /><br /> So, in this poem, I think there is more than is on the surface. For me, it recalls the fairy tales where a king comes dressed in a beggar's rags and the hero is rewarded for his generosity after he has given without condition or expectation of reward. If you are more inspired by Christian stories, it might recall Christ (my paraphrase) saying -- as you do for the least of these, so you do for me. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com