Sad Steps by Philip Larkin

“Sad Steps” by Philip Larkin was written when Larkin was in his mid-forties. The reader can sense a bit of bitterness and vulgarity from the opening line, “Groping back to bed after a piss” (1). This line also lets the reader that this is an average citizen rather than a rich man because such vulgarity would not dare be used to describe the upper class. The conclusion that I have gotten from this poem is that the moon is a symbol of youth. Larkin describes it as, “a reminder of the strength and pain / of being young; that it can’t come again” (16-17). This seems like a mid-life crisis moment for Larkin as he realizes that he is not young anymore and he becomes sadden by this thought. As he is staring at the moon, he feels as though the moon is yelling, “Lozenge of love! Medallion of art! / O wolves of memory! Immensements!” and this just seems what a young person would yell (11-12).

The Moth-Man by Elizabeth Bishop

The “Man-Moth” by Elizabeth Bishop seemed very interesting in the beginning but then very confusing in the end. I tried to read the poem with the word “mammoth” in replace of “man-moth” but I was still very confused. At the beginning of the poem, I pictured a man that is fascinated by the moon by Bishop saying, “He does not see the moon; he observes only her vast properties,” (7). In the second stanza, I feel that the man was in a hiding place and slowly “emerges from an opening under the edge of one of the sidewalks” to investigate the sky and the moon (12-13). He has found out that the moon is not an opening in the sky and becomes greatly disappointed. I am guessing that the man is a crazy, homeless guy because later in the poem, it is described that he goes in the subway every night and “He has to keep his hands in his pockets, as others must wear mufflers.” (Which mufflers are usually worn by people who have money) (39-40).

Sphincter by Allen Ginsberg

The poem “Sphincter” by Allen Ginsberg caught my eye big time. It threw me off guard because of all the vulgarity and nasty images it brought to mind. I didn’t think that poetry could be written like this and I’m pretty sure there is plenty more poetry out there that is like this or worse in vulgarity than this. With the line, “Now AIDS makes it shy, but still / eager to serve—“ I thought this was very risky for Ginsberg to put in his poetry because people at that time weren’t very open-minded about homosexuality (10-11). The lines, “active, eager, receptive to phallus / coke bottle, candle, carrot / banana & fingers—“ were very graphic (7-9). These lines were basically describing what Ginsberg would, well, as gross as it may seem, shove up his butt for sexual pleasure. Ginsberg is clearly well open about his sexuality and is a figure in striving for gay rights.

Dog by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

“Dog” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti caught my attention out of all the assigned poems because to me, it seemed like it was very easy to comprehend. The line, “The dog trots freely in the street” is repeated several times throughout this poem. This gives the reader the feeling that a dog has its own free will to do anything that it may want to do. At the beginning of the poem, the dog is describing what it sees around him: “And the things he sees / Are his reality” (5-6). By describing what all he sees around himself, it makes the reader get a feeling that the dog is curious and likes sightseeing while he is around town. Since he is able to trot freely in the streets, he is a wild dog that “will not be muzzled” and is free (43). I’m sure that this poem has some other deeper meaning but I really enjoyed from a literal view point.