酷我-北美枫

[anna]

原贴：
http://finecha.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/a-cup-of-fine-tea-anna-yin/

A cup of fine tea: Anna Yin’s “Raspberries”
By t
Anna Yin’s “Raspberries” [Read the poem here]
(First published in Issue #9 of Cha)

–This post is written by Tammy Ho.


There is not a wasted word in Yin’s “Raspberries”. The poem is a concise exploration of a moment; a modern interpretation of the kind of classical Chinese poems in which a specific scene, thought or feeling is condensed and captured in the most economic way. Yet, despite its focus on a particular instant, Yin’s poem still allows for any number of interpretations.

The poet’s inspiration is clearly nature in this work, and throughout the poem, she uses different natural elements in simple yet powerful images. But people are present too—we see a world in which the natural and human spheres are closely blended. Take, for example, the first lines: ‘On our bed / we lie like flatfish’ (L1-L2). Already, the mixture is evident, even if the exact meaning of these lines is not entirely clear. Does the metaphor suggest post-coital exhaustion? Or does it reveal a sense of apathy and laziness as the couple rest motionless, the way certain species of flatfish lie on the ocean floor? The lines may also contain the obvious double meaning of telling lies, which may suggest that the relationship is somehow tainted. Is the poet imagining a couple who no longer love each other but continue the relationship out of sheer habit?

Next, Yin takes us out through the bedroom window into the night air: ‘Outside, stars grow old. / A white cocoon / casts its image on the river’ (L3-L5). The notion of stars, entities which have a life span of millions of years, growing old perhaps reveals a certain arrogance on the characters’ part. Are they projecting their own weariness onto the stars? Considering its placement next to the stars, it seems likely that the cocoon being described is the moon. This is also suggested in at least two other ways. Firstly, one can imagine that a white crescent moon resembles a cocoon when it is reflected on the water. Secondly, there is a kind of subtle poetic rhyming slang in which ‘cocoon’ immediately suggests ‘moon’.

In the next lines, the poet continues to conjure the natural night-time scene: ‘In sparse shadows / a willow dangles. / Along the thorn fences / raspberries bleed’ (L6-L9). With only a handful of carefully selected words, Yin manages to evoke a strong sense of atmosphere, transporting the reader to the still river’s edge. Yet, although very little seems to be happening, there is a sense of unease and violence filling the night air. ‘Sparse’ and ‘dangles’ suggest a certain limpness and helplessness, perhaps taking us back to the ‘flatfish’ of the second line and echoing the characters’ feelings for each other. The more violent language of ‘thorn’ and ‘bleed’ increases the tension. But it is not an active form of aggression; instead, it is more passive as the raspberries slowly rot on the bush and bleed their juices. That the reader is supposed to identify the bruised fruit with the couple is indicated by the fact that ‘Raspberries’ is the title of the poem. Like the berries, they too are slowly decaying on the fence.

The slight violence of ‘bleed’ and ‘thorns’ also provides emotional foreshadowing for the final section of the poem, which reads: ‘They remember - / once being the fire / drawing the moth / flapping its wings / to flames’ (L10-L14). Here, we are presumably transported back to the passionate start of the characters’ relationship in which each of them was self-destructively drawn to the other. But if they had imagined being consumed by the heat of their relationship, they were wrong. Instead, as we see in the opening lines, their love does not end in a great conflagration but ebbs into motionless regret.

This entry was posted on November 28, 2009 at 9:42 pm and is filed under Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Why we like you. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “A cup of fine tea: Anna Yin’s “Raspberries””
t Says:

November 28, 2009 at 9:47 pm | Reply
Here, I would also like to mention a comment made by Cha contributor Surajit Chakravarty about the image of the suicidal moth helplessly and willingly attracted to the burning flame:

The suicidal moth attracted to a glow is also part of a common metaphor in Hindi used to refer to a besotted lover (usually the male) in a lost cause.

Yamabuki Says:

November 29, 2009 at 12:20 am | Reply
Perhaps its my age, I’m 63, but to me the poem evokes the nearness of death.

“lie like flatfish” suggests old tired bodies.

“stars grow old.” speaks of aging.

“A white cocoon” could be death shroud.

“In sparse shadows a willow dangles” Sparse shadows suggest old age decrepitude. The willow is symbolic of “the Underworld goddesses, mostly notably Persephone” (http://www.graveaddiction.com/symbol.html)

“raspberries bleed” suggests loss of vitality.

“the moth flapping its wings to flames.” suggests being drawn toward death.

This is not to argue with Tammy Ho’s ideas about the poem. Rather my ideas are like a shadow side of hers.

Yamabuki

t Says:

November 29, 2009 at 1:28 am | Reply
Yamabuki, thank you so much for your analysis. I honestly only thought of the lovers’ possible diminishing affection and passion; your interpretation adds another layer of meaning to the piece.
_________________
---------------------

Anna Yin

《爱的灯塔-星子安娜双语诗选》
<Nightlights> <Seven Nights with the Chinese Zodiac> ...

http://annapoetry.com

[[星子安娜]]

原贴：
http://finecha.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/a-cup-of-fine-tea-anna-yin/

A cup of fine tea: Anna Yin’s “Raspberries”
By t
Anna Yin’s “Raspberries” [Read the poem here]
(First published in Issue #9 of Cha)

–This post is written by Tammy Ho.


There is not a wasted word in Yin’s “Raspberries”. The poem is a concise exploration of a moment; a modern interpretation of the kind of classical Chinese poems in which a specific scene, thought or feeling is condensed and captured in the most economic way. Yet, despite its focus on a particular instant, Yin’s poem still allows for any number of interpretations.

The poet’s inspiration is clearly nature in this work, and throughout the poem, she uses different natural elements in simple yet powerful images. But people are present too—we see a world in which the natural and human spheres are closely blended. Take, for example, the first lines: ‘On our bed / we lie like flatfish’ (L1-L2). Already, the mixture is evident, even if the exact meaning of these lines is not entirely clear. Does the metaphor suggest post-coital exhaustion? Or does it reveal a sense of apathy and laziness as the couple rest motionless, the way certain species of flatfish lie on the ocean floor? The lines may also contain the obvious double meaning of telling lies, which may suggest that the relationship is somehow tainted. Is the poet imagining a couple who no longer love each other but continue the relationship out of sheer habit?

Next, Yin takes us out through the bedroom window into the night air: ‘Outside, stars grow old. / A white cocoon / casts its image on the river’ (L3-L5). The notion of stars, entities which have a life span of millions of years, growing old perhaps reveals a certain arrogance on the characters’ part. Are they projecting their own weariness onto the stars? Considering its placement next to the stars, it seems likely that the cocoon being described is the moon. This is also suggested in at least two other ways. Firstly, one can imagine that a white crescent moon resembles a cocoon when it is reflected on the water. Secondly, there is a kind of subtle poetic rhyming slang in which ‘cocoon’ immediately suggests ‘moon’.

In the next lines, the poet continues to conjure the natural night-time scene: ‘In sparse shadows / a willow dangles. / Along the thorn fences / raspberries bleed’ (L6-L9). With only a handful of carefully selected words, Yin manages to evoke a strong sense of atmosphere, transporting the reader to the still river’s edge. Yet, although very little seems to be happening, there is a sense of unease and violence filling the night air. ‘Sparse’ and ‘dangles’ suggest a certain limpness and helplessness, perhaps taking us back to the ‘flatfish’ of the second line and echoing the characters’ feelings for each other. The more violent language of ‘thorn’ and ‘bleed’ increases the tension. But it is not an active form of aggression; instead, it is more passive as the raspberries slowly rot on the bush and bleed their juices. That the reader is supposed to identify the bruised fruit with the couple is indicated by the fact that ‘Raspberries’ is the title of the poem. Like the berries, they too are slowly decaying on the fence.

The slight violence of ‘bleed’ and ‘thorns’ also provides emotional foreshadowing for the final section of the poem, which reads: ‘They remember - / once being the fire / drawing the moth / flapping its wings / to flames’ (L10-L14). Here, we are presumably transported back to the passionate start of the characters’ relationship in which each of them was self-destructively drawn to the other. But if they had imagined being consumed by the heat of their relationship, they were wrong. Instead, as we see in the opening lines, their love does not end in a great conflagration but ebbs into motionless regret.

This entry was posted on November 28, 2009 at 9:42 pm and is filed under Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Why we like you. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “A cup of fine tea: Anna Yin’s “Raspberries””
t Says:

November 28, 2009 at 9:47 pm | Reply
Here, I would also like to mention a comment made by Cha contributor Surajit Chakravarty about the image of the suicidal moth helplessly and willingly attracted to the burning flame:

The suicidal moth attracted to a glow is also part of a common metaphor in Hindi used to refer to a besotted lover (usually the male) in a lost cause.

Yamabuki Says:

November 29, 2009 at 12:20 am | Reply
Perhaps its my age, I’m 63, but to me the poem evokes the nearness of death.

“lie like flatfish” suggests old tired bodies.

“stars grow old.” speaks of aging.

“A white cocoon” could be death shroud.

“In sparse shadows a willow dangles” Sparse shadows suggest old age decrepitude. The willow is symbolic of “the Underworld goddesses, mostly notably Persephone” (http://www.graveaddiction.com/symbol.html)

“raspberries bleed” suggests loss of vitality.

“the moth flapping its wings to flames.” suggests being drawn toward death.

This is not to argue with Tammy Ho’s ideas about the poem. Rather my ideas are like a shadow side of hers.

Yamabuki

t Says:

November 29, 2009 at 1:28 am | Reply
Yamabuki, thank you so much for your analysis. I honestly only thought of the lovers’ possible diminishing affection and passion; your interpretation adds another layer of meaning to the piece.
_________________
---------------------

Anna Yin

《爱的灯塔-星子安娜双语诗选》
<Nightlights> <Seven Nights with the Chinese Zodiac> ...

http://annapoetry.com

[星子]

谢谢Tammy的评读。
_________________

[[ANNA]]

谢谢Tammy的评读。
_________________

[风动]

提读！

[[风动]]

提读！