Subscribe: by Email | in Reader

Not only the Eskimos -- Lisel Mueller

More on snow:
(Poem #1430) Not only the Eskimos
 Not only the Eskimos
 We have only one noun
 but as many different kinds:

 the grainy snow of the Puritans
 and snow of soft, fat flakes,

 guerrilla snow, which comes in the night
 and changes the world by morning,

 rabbinical snow, a permanent skullcap
 on the highest mountains,

 snow that blows in like the Lone Ranger,
 riding hard from out of the West,

 surreal snow in the Dakotas,
 when you can't find your house, your street,
 though you are not in a dream
 or a science-fiction movie,

 snow that tastes good to the sun
 when it licks black tree limbs,
 leaving us only one white stripe,
 a replica of a skunk,

 unbelievable snows:
 the blizzard that strikes on the tenth of April,
 the false snow before Indian summer,
 the Big Snow on Mozart's birthday,
 when Chicago became the Elysian Fields
 and strangers spoke to each other,

 paper snow, cut and taped,
 to the inside of grade-school windows,

 in an old tale, the snow
 that covers a nest of strawberries,
 small hearts, ripe and sweet,
 the special snow that goes with Christmas,
 whether it falls or not,

 the Russian snow we remember
 along with the warmth and smell of furs,
 though we have never traveled
 to Russia or worn furs,

 Villon's snows of yesteryear,
 lost with ladies gone out like matches,
 the snow in Joyce's "The Dead,"
 the silent, secret snow
 in a story by Conrad Aiken,
 which is the snow of first love,

 the snowfall between the child
 and the spacewoman on TV,

 snow as idea of whiteness,
 as in snowdrop, snow goose, snowball bush,

 the snow that puts stars in your hair,
 and your hair, which has turned to snow,

 the snow Elinor Wylie walked in
 in velvet shoes,

 the snow before her footprints
 and the snow after,

 the snow in the back of our heads,
 whiter than white, which has to do
 with childhood again each year.
-- Lisel Mueller
 From "Alive Together: New and Selected Poems", published 1996.

 Many poets have used multiplicity of meaning to lend ambiguity (and
hopefully depth) to their poems, but rarely has the multiplicity itself
been the subject of a poem. The danger here is that the poem descends
into mere boring repetition, a shopping list of definitions. Fortunately
for us, Ms Mueller avoids the pitfall adroitly, with unexpected
metaphors ("rabbinical snow" is my favourite), literary and historical
references, and (at the very end) an unabashed appeal to nostalgia.
Notice how the descriptions become steadily more allusive as the poem
goes on; this adds to the impact of what would otherwise have been a
rather predictable ending.

thomas.

PS. The LINGUIST mailing list has this to say about the number of words
meaning 'snow' in various Eskimo languages:
  http://www.ling.ed.ac.uk/linguist/issues/5/5-1239.html
  http://www.ling.ed.ac.uk/linguist/issues/5/5-1259.html

22 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

S.A. Robinson said...

incredible...and much better than this poem by Mueller, which I just read this morning..

In November

Outside the house the wind is howling
and the trees are creaking horribly.
This is an old story
with it's old beginning,
as I lay me down to sleep.
But when I wake up, sunlight
has taken over the room.
You have already made coffee
and the radio brings us music
from a confident age. In the paper
bad news is set in distant places.
Whatever was bound to happen
in my story did not happen.
But I know there are rules that cannot be broken.
Perhaps a name was changed.
A small mistake. Perhaps
as woman I do not know
is facing the day with the heavy heart
that, by all rights, should have been mine.

Why the discrepancy? Not Only the Eskimos is tour de force compared with In November...should we seek more consistency from our prize-winning poets, or take what we're offered with simple acceptance?

sr

Invertir en oro said...

Hello. I would like to congratulate you for the post, is very good, also I like a lot of

reading and researching topics related to your post

Inversiones en petroleo said...

This a great post. i would like to read more abou this topic another day, regards.

cheap viagra online said...

Snow is an important part of our lives, and help us to share fantastic moments which are gonna be forever and ever in our memories. I lives in a country without snow, and you can't imagine how sad life is there.

Ideas de negocios said...

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, but I am firmly convinced of this and love to learn more about the subject. If possible, acquire knowledge, would you update your blog with more information? It is very helpful to me

Unknown said...

g and in addition present that y

denbagus said...

nice post
Resep Obat Ampuh Kemaluan Bernanah
Resep Pengobatan Alami Ampuh Kemaluan Bernanah
Resep Obat Ampuh Kemaluan Wanita Bernanah
Resep Obat Paling Ampuh Kemaluan Bernanah
Resep Obat Ampuh Sembuhkan Penyakit Kemaluan Bernanah
Artikel Obat Ampuh Kemaluan Bernanah
Artikel Obat Ampuh Kemaluan Perih Bernanah
Artikel Obat Tradisional Ampuh Kemaluan Bernanah
Artikel Obat Alternatif Ampuh Kemaluan Bernanah
Artikel Obat Yang Ampuh Atasi Kemaluan Bernanah
Kumpulan Obat Ampuh Kemaluan Bernanah
Kumpulan Obat Ampuh Kemaluan Sakit Bernanah
Kumpulan Obat Ampuh Menyembuhkan Kemaluan Bernanah
Kumpulan Obat Alami Ampuh Kemaluan Bernanah
Kumpulan Obat Ampuh Kemaluan Pria Bernanah
Pengobatan Tradisional Penyakit Kanker Serviks
Cara Ampuh Pengobatan Tradisional Penyakit Kanker Serviks
Pengobatan Tradisional Penyakit Kanker Serviks Stadium 3
Terapi Pengobatan Tradisional Penyakit Kanker Serviks
Pengobatan Tradisional Penyakit Kanker Serviks Parah
Tips Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks
Tips Pengobatan Tradisional Atasi Kanker Serviks
Tips Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks Jinak
Cari Tips Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks
Tips Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks Manjur
Cara Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks
Cara Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks Tanpa Operasi
Cara Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks Stadium 4
Makalah Cara Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks
Cara Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks Online
Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks Tanpa Operasi
Terapi Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks Tanpa Operasi
Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks Tanpa Operasi Murah
Pengobatan Tradisional Tumor Kanker Serviks Tanpa Operasi
Harga Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks Tanpa Operasi

denbagus said...

yes
Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks Tanpa ke Dokter
Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks Ganas Tanpa ke Dokter
Pengobatan Tradisional Penyakit Kanker Serviks Tanpa ke Dokter
Pengobatan Tradisional Gejala Kanker Serviks Tanpa ke Dokter
Resep Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks Tanpa ke Dokter
Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks dengan Herbal
Pengobatan Tradisional Sakit Kanker Serviks dengan Herbal
Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks dengan Ramuan Herbal
Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks dengan Herbal Denature
Cari Pengobatan Tradisional Kanker Serviks dengan Herbal
Jual Obat Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Jual Obat Ambeien Wasir Tradisional Paling Manjur
Jual Obat Ambeien Tradisional Yang Paling Manjur
Jual Obat Ambeien Tradisional Terbukti Paling Manjur
Jual Obat Benjolan Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Resep Obat Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Resep Obat Ambeien Berdarah Tradisional Paling Manjur
Resep Obat Ambeien Yang Parah Tradisional Paling Manjur
Resep Obat Hemoroid Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Resep Pengobatan Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Cari Obat Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Cari Obat Ambeien Stadium 2 Tradisional Paling Manjur
Cari Obat Ambeien Ibu Menyusui Tradisional Paling Manjur
Cari Obat Penyakit Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Cari Obat Ambeien Ambejoss Tradisional Paling Manjur
Artikel Obat Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Artikel Mengobati Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Artikel Pengobatan Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Artikel Obat Ambeien Berdarah Tradisional Paling Manjur
Artikel Obat Wasir atau Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Kumpulan Obat Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Kumpulan Obat Ambeien Tradisional Yang Paling Manjur
Kumpulan Obat Ambeien Tradisional Paling Murah Manjur
Kumpulan Obat Ambeien Akut Tradisional Paling Manjur
Kumpulan Obat Kapsul Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur

denbagus said...

good
Beli Obat Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Beli Obat Salep Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Beli Obat Ambeien Tradisional BPOM Paling Manjur
Beli Obat Benjolan Wasir Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur
Beli Obat Ambeien Tradisional Paling Manjur Tanpa Operasi
Jual Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Jual Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil di Sekitar Miss v
Jual Obat Tradisional untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Jual Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v Cepat Sembuh
Jual Obat Alami untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Cari Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Cari Obat untuk Mengobati Penyakit Kutil di Miss v
Cari Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil di Area Miss v
Cari Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v Tanpa Operasi
Cari Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v Dengan Herbal
Makalah Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Makalah Obat Herbal untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Makalah Obat untuk Mengobati Bintil Kutil di Miss v
Makalah Obat Alternatif untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Makalah Obat Denature untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Harga Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Harga Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil di Dekat Miss v
Harga Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v Tanpa Operasi
Harga Obat Manjur untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Harga Obat Herbal Ampuh untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Pusat Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Pusat Obat untuk Mengobati Infeksi Kutil di Miss v
Pusat Obat untuk Mengobati Penyakit Kutil di Miss v
Pusat Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil Jengger Ayam di Miss v
Pusat Obat untuk Mengobati Kutil di Bibir Miss v
Obat Herbal untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Harga Obat Herbal untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Penjual Obat Herbal untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Obat Herbal untuk Mengobati Benjolan Kutil di Miss v
Nama Obat Herbal untuk Mengobati Kutil di Miss v
Jual Obat Kutil Di Sekitar Kemaluan Pria
Jual Obat Alami Kutil Di Sekitar Kemaluan Pria
Jual Obat Kutil Jengger Ayam Di Sekitar Kemaluan Pria
Jual Obat Penyakit Kutil Di Sekitar Kemaluan Pria
Jual Obat Kapsul Kutil Di Sekitar Kemaluan Pria

Post a Comment