Bored Analysis

All those times I was bored
out of my mind. Holding the log
while he sawed it. Holding
the string while he measured, boards,
distances between things, or pounded
stakes into the ground for rows and rows
of lettuces and beets, which I then (bored)
weeded. Or sat in the back
of the car, or sat still in boats,
sat, sat, while at the prow, stern, wheel
he drove, steered, paddled. It
wasn't even boredom, it was looking,
looking hard and up close at the small
details. Myopia. The worn gunwales,
the intricate twill of the seat
cover. The acid crumbs of loam, the granular
pink rock, its igneous veins, the sea-fans
of dry moss, the blackish and then the graying
bristles on the back of his neck.
Sometimes he would whistle, sometimes
I would. The boring rhythm of doing
things over and over, carrying
the wood, drying
the dishes. Such minutiae. It's what
the animals spend most of their time at,
ferrying the sand, grain by grain, from their tunnels,
shuffling the leaves in their burrows. He pointed
such things out, and I would look
at the whorled texture of his square finger, earth under
the nail. Why do I remember it as sunnier
all the time then, although it more often
rained, and more birdsong?
I could hardly wait to get
the hell out of there to
anywhere else. Perhaps though
boredom is happier. It is for dogs or
groundhogs. Now I wouldn't be bored.
Now I would know too much.
Now I would know.

.: :.

A great deal of effect is gained from the syntax and diction which in turn creates a tone that shifts throughout. It starts with three word 'chunks' and repetition of the word bored (as a different homophone and parts of speech). This pattern creates very deep boredom. Then, as she says "It wasn't even boredom" and begins to really delve into her memories, the tone begins to shift. Myopia (14), or nearsightedness, is extremely important. This is the first sense of regret. She is realizing how nearsighted she was. How she didn't fully appreciate those simpler, more enjoyable times. The three word thought rythm begins to mix with longer, prettier, more affectionate sounding phrases in lines 15-17, creating more longing. Then, there is foreshadowing of her father's death with the "graying bristles on the back of his neck" (19). She states, "Why do I remember it as sunnier all the time then, although it more often
rained, and more birdsong?" (30-2) That serves as a fairly obvious indicator of how much happier times were. I am just a highschool student, but there is my input on this lovely poem.

| Posted on 2009-10-08 | by a guest