Midwinter gloom --
she turns on the lights
in her doll’s house
The Heron's Nest, 8:2, 2006
Lorraine Ellis Harr
Commentary: In Harr’s poem, a pause occurs after the first line. With “Midwinter gloom,” we are given an emotional context, as well as a seasonal setting, for the rest of the poem. The effect here is a kind of zooming in as we tighten our focus on the doll house, and even more closely on its lights being turned on. The moment is quick—just when the lights flick on—but it’s in the context of a much longer season of gloom. Indeed, this small action is a protest against the dreariness of winter, and this unspoken feeling of protest lies at the heart of this poem.
--excerpted from "Thirteen Ways of Reading Haiku" by Michael Dylan Welch
Note: You can read the full text here, To the Lighthouse: "Thirteen Ways of Reading Haiku" by Michael Dylan Welch
No comments:
Post a Comment