after Wallace Stevens
**
Now under consideration elsewhere. I hope to re-post this poem once it has been published. I am very grateful for all of the wonderful comments below. Thank you!
Sincerely, and blessings to all, Andy
October 1, 2012
**
Andrew Shattuck McBride
September 25, 2012
PaPoWriMo ~ 2012 *Day Two Poem*
Andrew Shattuck McBride, Writer's Blog 
i love the structure of this piece. excellent! it inspires me to be so inspired. 🙂
Thank you Tsena.
My poem is inspired by “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” a poem by Wallace Stevens.
Here’s a link to his poem:
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15746
Blessings, Andy
you are brilliant no matter who did it first. period.
Tsena,
Wallace Stevens wrote/published his poem in 1917, nearly 100 years ago. To me, that’s just amazing.
Anyway, now I’m (((smiling))) and (((blushing))) at the same time.
Press on with your writing, blogging and publishing!
Andy
wow, that is really amazing to think of: 100 years ago.
can we be that immortal, also? what a thought…
you are brilliant no matter who did it first. period. i remembered Steven’s poem as soon as i hit “send” 🙂
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Gorgeous. Even the pun! (I love an original pun.) And also “nested” in Part XII. As well as the rest of Part XII, plus Parts I-XI and XIII.
LOLOL
Jennifer, thank you for your wonderful comments. Sounds like you like nearly all of it?! BTW, I tweaked this a bit on the blog after I sent it to you and Tsena.
Pun, as in “What’s the big Ardea?”–? Well, yes, that was intentional. Wouldn’t that be great, if it’s an original pun?
My use of “nested” isn’t meant as a pun; I was looking for a word conveying my thought at first that this bird might still be alive. As I stood there looking down on it, I realized that it was dead, and I felt such a deep sense of loss.
Thank you Jennifer.
Blessings to you and your family, Andy
Yes, “like” x 13!
Yes, “What’s the big Ardea?”–nice one! (I suppose it’s possible that birders or ornithologists may have thought this one up before, but I’ve certainly never run across it in a poem!)
I didn’t mean to imply I thought “nested” is a pun. It struck me as a metaphor (a neatly oppositional one, given that the heron is dead). Thanks for explaining that it’s a narrative device, too–that’s also cool, and it heightens the grief of your realization.
LOL x 13!
I just had an image of a cartoon of a heron with a lit light bulb over its head. Possibly for an Ornithologists Journal?
No, not at all. I still am trying to figure out what I’m doing, metaphor-wise and narrative device-wise.
Thank you for your comments! Cheers, Andy
A birders poem and a Wallace Stevens tribute. What’s not to love? One of my favorite by Stevens, Andrew, and I think you did it honor while presenting your own style, in the scientific descriptions. I think this is great.
Thank you very much for your kind comments! I really appreciate your feedback.
The poem by Stevens is one of my favorites.
I was also influenced by an essay on Stevens and artist Meret Oppenheim by Priscilla Long, titled “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Fur-Covered Teacup.”
http://www.conjunctions.com/webcon/Long09.htm
Best wishes, Andy
Oh, I’m relieved to come back and read this again and see that this is an essay. . . but it reads more like a prose poem, Long’s piece I mean. Wow. Thanks for the extra info!
Thank you for your comments. Definitely.
Your comment that Priscilla Long’s essay reads like a prose poem is interesting. She’s also a poet!
BTW, she has an excellent book on writing and working on craft titled The Writer’s Portable Mentor: A Guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing Life (2010). Highly recommended.
Best wishes, Andy