Response to Sestina by Elizabeth Bishop

"Sestina" by Elizabeth Bishop (p. 120 in book)

         September rain falls on the house.

         In the failing light, the old grandmother

         sits in the kitchen with the child

         beside the Little Marvel Stove,

         reading the jokes from the almanac,

         laughing and talking to hide her tears.

         She thinks that her equinoctial tears

         and the rain that beats on the roof of the house

         were both foretold by the almanac,

         but only known to a grandmother.

         The iron kettle sings on the stove.

         She cuts some bread and says to the child,

         It's time for tea now, but the child

         is watching the teakettle's small hard tears

         dance like mad on the hot black stove, 

         the way the rain must dance on the house.

         Tidying up, the old grandmother

         hangs up the clever almanac

         on its string.  Birdlike, the almanac

         hovers half open above the child,

         hovers above the old grandmother

         and her teacup full of dark brown tears.

         She shivers and says she thinks the house

         feels chilly, and puts more wood in the stove.

         It was to be, says the Marvel Stove.

         I know what I know, says the almanac.

         With crayons the child draws a rigid house

         and a winding pathway.  Then the child

         puts in a man with buttons like tears

         and shows it proudly to the grandmother.

         But secretly, while the grandmother

         busies herself about the stove,

         the little moons fall down like tears

         from between the pages of the almanac

         into the flower bed the child

         has carefully placed in front of the house.

         Time to plant tears, says the almanac.

         The grandmother sings to the marvellous stove 

         and the child draws another inscrutable house.  ("Sestina" 1-39)

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this poem.  I definitely think it is one of my favorite poems we have read so far in class.  There are a lot of aspects of the poem that I really enjoy.  One thing that I like about the poem is the way she creates fluidity.  For instance, when I read "Sestina," the lines "dance like mad on the hot black stove / the way the rain must dance on the house," (15-16) it seems like the rhythm of how I say the words relates to the whole idea of dancing.  I don't know if this makes sense but the way I was reading those lines out loud made me feel like I was dancing with the words. Also, I really like how she incorporates diction or word choice into this poem.  I think it is very creative when she uses words such as "failing light," as well as how she personifies the almanac by saying, "Time to plant tears, says the almanac."  These are just a few examples of how Bishop uses word choice to create ideas such as life coming to an end for the grandmother.  

In class, we wrote about how we interpreted the relationship between the grandmother and the child.  After hearing what everyone had to say, it made me like the poem even more.  The fact that this poem is open to so many different interpretations made me enjoy and appreciate it even more.  But here is what I wrote in class. The grandmother is sad that she won't get to see the child grow up because she is close to the end of her life.  This is shown when it says she is "laughing and talking to hide her tears."    Also, I think that she is disappointed that life has to end and that she can't be with the child when it says, "it was to be."  In addition, I think this poem shows the separation of perception between the grandmother and child.  The child sees their drawing in a positive and happy way when it says, "and shows it proudly to the grandmother."  On the other hand, the grandmother seems to think of the drawing in a sorrowful and melancholy way.  At the same time, I think they have a loving relationship and are close in that the child is aware that the grandmother is feeling sad. Overall, their relationship is complex and complicated but I think that goes back to the idea that there is not just one way to interpret the poem.  In class, we discussed about whether we thought the child was a boy or a girl.  I think that Bishop is allowing readers the opportunity to develop their own ideas and perceptions instead of just saying that it is a girl or a boy. At the very end of the poem when it says, "and the child draws another inscrutable house," I think that it is not only the house that is inscrutable but this poem in general has a mysterious quality to it.  Overall, I really enjoyed this poem.  

Oh and here is a picture I found that I thought went well with the poem...