Self Alaska

Wonderful, Mr. Yar-row!

(magnesium wad)

I know my comments (when I like something) border on the simplistic, but I've done my time in school and now feel that the purpose of poetry is pleasure, pure and pimple, and this gives me great pleasure.

Very flow-y...if that makes sense, Bill. What a pretty poem.

moving from minerals, through impinged corpuscle, an image of blood entered my mind and then...
Was his will congealed?
That really struck me.

And then the frozen images... calves as the catharsis of the poem.

Perfect title.

Perfect word, "congealed".

The closing stanza made me hold my breath and forget that I'm sitting in a steambath August night.

I like Matt Dennison's comment, "I've done my time in school and now feel that the purpose of poetry is pleasure, pure and simple, and this gives me pleasure."

I agree. The language is delectable.

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A good list poem - I like in particular the music of the words in stanza one. Nice closing image, Bill.

Yes, the music of the words in stanza one, the word content, the visual imagery throughout: and then Franz Kafka's words from the opening quote come rushing back again, filled with new meaning.

"The glacier calves inside him." Gives me chills, but in a good way.

What cruise line did you use? I need to book passage. Fav.

This is just great -- the title, the Kafka, all of it. I really like how compact all those images are. I particularly like how this piece starts with an internal gaze then moves to the outside, and then how we are back inside at the end --

"A glacier calves inside him."

That is brilliant.

Who knew such things occurred on cruises?

I'm with them: fave!

Stunning use of language in the list form, like this a lot
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beautiful.

cruise to the Caribbean next time.

I don't even know where to begin to praise this poem. I like everything about it. Every word, every sentence. Pure. Good. Great.

I may be alone in seeing this wonderful poem as offering, at best, the history of a compromise with the voice's static, stalled self and maybe even more pessimistically, a kind of bitter reply to Kafka's quote. Of all places for the frozen soul to vacation, ironic Alaska would seem to offer the least inspiration to thaw, regain movement, and his picture taking causes him to internalize,or conjure, an iceberg: slow,frozen,congealed, moored by its weight and going nowhere.
The other reading--that he sees the awesome beauty in his own state, still doesn't free him. No matter--such music in the words.

^ i read it similarly, and took the reply from the doctor as ironic (if not intentionally so.) the protagonist's feeling stuck and stagnant as though he's got any of those (often grey-silver i think) images frozen or blocked inside him. the doctor suggests going to a sealed-over landscape that doesn't support much life, and echoes all those things.

and the glacier calving inside him struck me as dual-edged. (ahem.) what he essentially does is take more frozenness inside himself. so it may cleave through what's trapped inside him, but he's essentially taking on more of the same. and who really wants a glacier inside of them?

just my take on it.

wonderful turns of phrase though -- 'totalitarian pest/ ...irridiated isotope' and that caliving glacier.

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cleaving, not caliving. can't type.

this poem--

yes

now winters in me

Enjoyed this one a lot. So sad! But poignant. Thanks for the read!

Some great images here. Enjoyed reading.

"Was his will congealed?" ! such a powerful image to end with, after the lead up before that.

Quite powerful, and the last line is wonderful too.

I feel such sadness for this narrator. *

Sorry for taking so long to get to this poem.

big YES to this poem.

Thank you for sharing it, Bill.

This is a powerful poem, Bill. The language is perfect. Not one word is wasted.

Bill - You're writing has been a mentor to me. This piece is brilliant although the world seems to have us surrounded by people who don't care to wield an axe. "Stray hair." Fav.

Love this.
Love.
Literally had to freeze to start flowing again.

Rene

Gorgeous. The last image -- makes my heart curl up. And the entire first stanza setting up his 'constipation' wonderful. Peace...

I loved the litany of ills, as I made a nod in response to each of them. The previous comments were very interesting to read and consider, as well.

James Robison's comments on this are so smart and spot-on. For me, all I can say is I whistled under my breath when I came to: "A glacier calves inside him." Exquisite language as always, Bill. Fave.

The hurried, almost obsessive listing and the use of the questions all capture the millisecond of time it takes for a person in pain to imagine all these apocalyptic scenarios. I don't find the finish sad--I think it offers redemption. Enjoyed this, Bill.