Response to Ed Roberson

In reading the second half of City Eclogue, I found that it was easier to grasp the meaning of his poems because we went over the first half of the book in class. One of my favorite poems in the second half of the book is on page 101 and is called "A Sampler". This poem caught my attention becasue in my opinion it is simple, but in a good way. In this poem Roberson really "shows" what he is writing. For example he wrote "All this communication, nothing said. Nothing is voiced. The moon embroiders with its almost texture the sky, the seen wears its satiny light over what is there to say." As I read this poem, this part really stuck out to me because of all of the details he used. The words that he use to describe the moon and the light gave me an amazing visual.

Another poem that caught my attention is called "When The Morning Come" on page 120. This poem first caught my attention just because of the title and after reading it I figured out why. At the end of the page, there is a song, and not just any song. The song that he placed there has been sung in my church since before I was born and the poem Roberson wrote to go along with it confuses me. While you are in church there isn't supposed to be talk of suicide at least not in the way were it would come up easily in a conversation. This poem sounds like it is a man who is about to commit suicide but stops to think about what he is doing. It almost seems like he wants to step back and not kill himself but then a group of people come so he doesn't have a choice anymore and just decides to get it over with. This poem gives me an entirely different way of looking at this song.

In class we were instructed to write an "After Ed Roberson Poem" on any poem that came after page 63 in his book City Eclogue. I chose the poem entitled " Spontaneous Supremacies" on page 110. This poem was interesting to me but honestly I am not sure why I chose it. While I was reading it I pictured a man, going into a hospital looking for his wife day after day even though she died a few months ago. Here is my "After Ed Roberson Poem"

He is back, his world gone, locked doors lead to nowhere
but open wide.
He wants it back, her back, life back.
Dressed in white   they come and go
speaking "words that no longer count".
Agony, lost hope, a dying heart.
The walls claim     death and give life.
Wearing the garb of empty regret, no emotion shows.
He wants it sealed,
untouched,           wants back what
can't be given back, won't be given back,
bright light signals
life,   time,            unequal in comparison.