CAI Lab Assignment

In response to The Leap by James Dickey:

Personally I feel that this is a sad love poem. I say this because I get the impression that when he saw her at the dance, he in a way, fell in love with her, and perhaps loved her even before then, hence the line "that ring I made for you, Jane." The speaker is conversing with the reader, sharing almost a string of consciousness, or a walk down memory lane. This poem is imagery rich, like a memory, and has a scattered feel. I get the sense that perhaps this was Dickey's approach--to display for the reader his memories, not necessarily detail them, since memories are hazy creatures.

What struck me as a surprise is how the speaker, which I assume is Dickey, remembers her happy, challenging life, by use of words like "wide mouthed, eager to prove." This is contrasted by her fate, suicide. As I read I wondered what I feel Dickey must have wondered, which was "What happened to her during her life that drove her to take her own life in such a desperate fashion?" Also I found surprising was the tone of regret; that perhaps if he'd been a little more bold and brave, he would have asked her to dance, which might have changed her life course, and perhaps she'd still be alive. It is almost like the sliding glass doors idea in this case.

I loved the last three lines, especially the second to last, "By dust I swallowed thirty years ago-". It is precise and at the same time descriptive. Really, who hasn't felt like this at some point? This poem made me think about childhood friends and people I've lost touch with from high school. It made me think of all the kids that I thought were happy, outgoing individuals and made me question whether what met the eye was what was really there. Were they really happy? Were they abused at home? Did their parents love them? Were they ever troubled by things? It goes to show that even the person you think at that time--the one who "has it all"--might actually be unhappy, troubled, etc. How well do we really know anyone? Does it take a eulogy in the paper to jar us into looking beyond the skin?

Something that I feel adds to the mystery of this poem is the line: "Most obsessively wrong with the world Come out of her light, earth-spurning feet Grown heavy: would say that in the dusty heels of the playground some boy who did not depend On speed of foot, caught and betrayed her." I have read this line several times and I am still unclear as to its meaning. Does it mean that he chased her until she was tired and then caught her? Was this referring to the fact that because he didn't dance with her he betrayed her? Or does this have a broader meaning, such as him expressing regret that he didn't do more to be a presence in her life, the person that he loved, and that in turn, helped build toward her death?

In Response to Dickey, as per the Requirement I submit a response poem.

Kitchen dated, yellow, jug of boiled water
counters spick, stove span,
This was your domain.
You made your own ground beef here,
And churned raisin bread there.
The butter cookies hidden by the candied apricots
Rack of lamb and mint jelly
The smell haunting, delicious, scary.

Slim asparagus, zucchini, tomatoes lounge out,
Peaches, plums, all protected by a
Large, plastic owl: I thought I was helping
Instead I picked a plum not yet ripe
Fly at me with anger I've never seen.
Do not waste food: a pause,
These will ripen. And you look sheepish
For your anger haunting, delicious, scary.

Chiseled brow, brain to match
Life filled with war, torment, beauty, fear
Redemption never given, never sought:
It was a life filled with a wall full of preserved pears.
And in that kitchen you blew your brains out,
head in the sink, first shot missed
Embedded into the side of the fridge
A token to remember haunting, delicious, scary.

I stare at it now, covered by a magnet
A stupid beach themed magnet. My dad discovered
What you did there, sour mix of blood and brain
A life gasping, spilling all over the floor.
He still hasn't forgiven you.
For that matter, neither have I.
I suspect this doesn't matter much.
What a legacy haunting, delicious, scary.

But I'd rather remember you alive
With anger for my ignorance of ripeness
I'd rather see you proud, mistrustful of the tap water
I'd rather feel the shock of displeasing
Feel the smart of stupidity and be stunned than
Feel the gaping hole in the fridge
Burning in my chest haunting, delicious, scary.