I saw the title and thought of Janis Ian, Shay, but The Bell Jar is more my kind of thing. I’m not familiar with A Coney Island of the Mind or Lost Weekend and will look them up at the next opportunity. I love the idea of bells in a garden – we have wind chimes. The final stanza chimes with me.
Howl is an amazing piece of writing and The Bar Jar used to sit on my shelf before my daughter confiscated it! I like the ending, exactly what bells seem to do.
You found the perfect reading list for a seventeen year old poet full of the new ache of life in all its massive demands and contradictions, and its delirious sweetness as well. I of course had a similar reading list, but then my brain was far too scattered to know for whom those bells really tolled. Excellent quadrille, Shay.
A truly excellent poem. I found it ironic that you mentioned Plath's novel/book and I'm reading a Ted Hughes quote in your blog sidebar. Well done on all counts. :-)
Excellent... i didn't read those masterpieces until much later... but reading them I felt the need to time travel to a time when the text would have mattered most. Love that play with (w)ringing, made me think about how essential oils -- are wrung in Emily Dickinson's poem.
I read The Bell Jar when I was 34. So 17 years later than you did. And funny that you posted this on the 17th too! :-). Love your poem and that surprising last stanza.
Simply gorgeous. I read The Bell Jar back then too. Pain seeking how other hearts survived (or didnt).
ReplyDeleteI saw the title and thought of Janis Ian, Shay, but The Bell Jar is more my kind of thing. I’m not familiar with A Coney Island of the Mind or Lost Weekend and will look them up at the next opportunity. I love the idea of bells in a garden – we have wind chimes. The final stanza chimes with me.
ReplyDeleteDelicately written, Shay, with just that certain level of mystery, hurt, and refuge.
ReplyDeleteI too remember reading The Bell Jar but I was in college. Nice poem.
ReplyDeleteArcadia Maria
What a year of reading. So many greats ringing their truths.
ReplyDeleteHow you made bells both silver and dark is amazing.
ReplyDeleteeach triplet resonates through the compactness of your words - beautifully written
ReplyDeleteHowl is an amazing piece of writing and The Bar Jar used to sit on my shelf before my daughter confiscated it! I like the ending, exactly what bells seem to do.
ReplyDeleteI still don't think I could cope with The Bell Jar. I'll wait another decade.I love that final stanza!
ReplyDeleteYou found the perfect reading list for a seventeen year old poet full of the new ache of life in all its massive demands and contradictions, and its delirious sweetness as well. I of course had a similar reading list, but then my brain was far too scattered to know for whom those bells really tolled. Excellent quadrille, Shay.
ReplyDeleteA truly excellent poem. I found it ironic that you mentioned Plath's novel/book and I'm reading a Ted Hughes quote in your blog sidebar. Well done on all counts. :-)
ReplyDeleteExcellent... i didn't read those masterpieces until much later... but reading them I felt the need to time travel to a time when the text would have mattered most. Love that play with (w)ringing, made me think about how essential oils -- are wrung in Emily Dickinson's poem.
ReplyDeleteI've never read those, but I'll have to add them to my list now!
ReplyDeleteI read The Bell Jar when I was 34. So 17 years later than you did. And funny that you posted this on the 17th too! :-). Love your poem and that surprising last stanza.
ReplyDelete