W16 Close Reading of Don’t You Wonder, Sometimes?
This poem is obviously about David Bowie, going back to reference him often. The book that it even came from is also Bowie inspired, showing the authors love to the well admired singer. The poem did come out before his passing, which I found interesting, because it makes a really excellent tribute to the singer. Smith uses her language skills to make us remember him well and all his actions and behaviors.
The plinking of water from an old creaky A/C... I feel that’s something many people can imagine, baking in a hot summer August night. It’s unbearable, but we survive through it and just wait for the sun to set so it cools down. Well, at least cools for us Californians, and other dry heat states. Not so much for the Midwest and East. Anyways, the small little fragment is just something that clings to our memories of childhood, not quite nostalgic, but familiar and uncomfortable a little.
When she goes back to her Bowie reference, which in this section “II” she does alternating paragraphs to mention him, she makes him rememberable. Anyone who has seen him perform, sing, or even act should be able to think of his expressions, and the line just makes us think of him. Maybe there’s something about him that would be okay with the weather. Maybe he just bears through it. The title of “Don’t you wonder,sometimes?” Just ties in well since you might just do that thinking about sometime and someone else.
Plink past like water from a window A/C. We sweat it out,
Teach ourselves to wait. Silently, lazily, collapse happens.
But not for Bowie. He cocks his head, grins that wicked grin.
Tracy Smith, Don’t You Wonder, Sometimes? Life of Mars, Greywolf Press (2011)
Hi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteI didn't read this poem, and I have never been a huge fan of Bowie so its kind hard for me to relate to this post, but I did find it interesting that you mentioned he wrote this book before Bowie's passing. I think that that shows just how much David Bowie meant to a lot people throughout his time in the spotlight. I felt like a lot of people become huge fans of people once they die, because it is the popular thing to do, but it takes a true fan to write a book about someone while they are alive. It is hard to deny Bowie's greatness, but I just wish that people appreciated people more while they are still alive, rather than wait until they are gone. Thanks for your thoughts!
Hi Michelle, thanks for sharing your analysis! I read this poem and I have to say I did not understand it. I have never been too great at deciphering poetry, but reading other people's thoughts on them does usually help my understanding. To me it seems like the author was painting Bowie to be this God-like figure, and that's what made me question if they were actually talking about David Bowie. But from the way you described it, I can better see the direction the author was going with it.
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