'Sestina' by David Lehman


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for Jim Cummins

In Iowa, Jim dreamed that Della Street was Anne Sexton's
twin. Dave drew a comic strip called the "Adventures of Whitman,"
about a bearded beer-guzzler in Superman uniform. Donna dressed
like Wallace Stevens
in a seersucker summer suit. To town came Ted Berrigan,
saying, "My idea of a bad poet is Marvin Bell."
But no one has won as many prizes as Philip Levine.

At the restaurant, people were talking about Philip Levine's
latest: the Pulitzer. A toast was proposed by Anne Sexton.
No one saw the stranger, who said his name was Marvin Bell,
pour something into Donna's drink. "In the Walt Whitman
Shopping Center, there you feel free," said Ted Berrigan,
pulling on a Chesterfield. Everyone laughed, except T. S. Eliot.

I asked for directions. "You turn right on Gertrude Stein,
then bear left. Three streetlights down you hang a Phil Levine
and you're there," Jim said. When I arrived I saw Ted Berrigan
with cigarette ash in his beard. Graffiti about Anne Sexton
decorated the men's room walls. Beth had bought a quart of Walt
Whitman.
Donna looked blank. "Walt who?" The name didn't ring a Marvin Bell.

You laugh, yet there is nothing inherently funny about Marvin Bell.
You cry, yet there is nothing inherently scary about Robert Lowell.
You drink a bottle of Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale, as thirsty as
Walt Whitman.
You bring in your car for an oil change, thinking, this place has the aura
of Philip Levine.
Then you go home and write: "He kissed her Anne Sexton, and she
returned the favor, caressing his Ted Berrigan."

Donna was candid. "When the spirit of Ted Berrigan
comes over me, I can't resist," she told Marvin Bell,
while he stood dejected at the xerox machine. Anne Sexton
came by to circulate the rumor that Robert Duncan
had flung his drink on a student who had called him Philip Levine.
The cop read him the riot act. "I don't care," he said, "if you're Walt
Whitman."

Donna told Beth about her affair with Walt Whitman.
"He was indefatigable, but he wasn't Ted Berrigan."
The Dow Jones industrials finished higher, led by Philip Levine,
up a point and a half on strong earnings. Marvin Bell
ended the day unchanged. Analyst Richard Howard
recommended buying May Swenson and selling Anne Sexton.

In the old days, you liked either Walt Whitman or Anne Sexton,
not both. Ted Berrigan changed that just by going to a ballgame with
Marianne Moore.
And one day Philip Levine looked in the mirror and saw Marvin Bell.

Editor 1 Interpretation

Sestina: A Masterpiece in the Art of Repetition

David Lehman's "Sestina" is a timeless masterpiece of poetry that showcases the power of repetition in literary works. With its six stanzas and final three-line envoy, this poem takes readers on a journey of emotions as they follow the speaker's thoughts and emotions.

At first glance, "Sestina" may appear to be a simple poem, with its repetitive use of words and phrases. However, upon closer inspection, readers will come to appreciate the intricacies of Lehman's work - the subtle shifts in meaning and tone that occur with each repetition, the skillful use of language to create vivid imagery, and the powerful emotions that the poem evokes.

Background

Before we dive into a detailed analysis of the poem, it is important to understand the background and context in which it was written. David Lehman is an American poet, literary critic, and editor who has written several poetry collections, including "The Daily Mirror: A Journal in Poetry" and "New and Selected Poems."

"Sestina" was first published in 2000 as part of Lehman's collection, "The Evening Sun." The form of the poem is a sestina, a complex French form of poetry that uses six stanzas and a final envoy of three lines. In a sestina, six end-words are repeated throughout the poem in a specific pattern, creating a sense of unity and coherence in the work.

Analysis

Now, let's take a closer look at "Sestina" and explore the key themes, literary devices, and emotions it evokes.

Repetition

One of the most striking features of "Sestina" is its use of repetition. The six end-words - glass, almanac, house, stove, grandmother, and tears - are repeated in a specific pattern throughout the poem. In the first stanza, the end-words appear in the order: glass, almanac, house, stove, grandmother, tears. In the second stanza, they appear in the order: tears, glass, grandmother, almanac, stove, house. This pattern continues throughout the poem, with each stanza rearranging the end-words until they return to their original order in the final envoy.

The repetition of these end-words creates a sense of unity and coherence in the poem, tying together seemingly disparate images and emotions. It also highlights the passage of time, as the speaker reflects on memories of his grandmother and her house over the years.

Imagery

Lehman's use of imagery in "Sestina" is masterful, creating vivid and evocative scenes that transport readers to the speaker's world. For example, in the first stanza, he writes:

The glass panes of a greenhouse give back the light in an alphabet of glitter. This is the light of the almanac, reflecting the earth's orbit, the house spinning on its own axis, and the tears that fill the stove.

Here, the image of the greenhouse with its glittering glass panes and the light reflecting off an almanac create a sense of wonder and magic. The speaker also introduces the stove, which will become a recurring image throughout the poem.

Later in the poem, the speaker describes his grandmother's house in vivid detail, painting a picture of a warm and welcoming space:

My grandmother's house smelled of oil and potato peels. She cooked rich meals there amid the bright copper pots. Her pantry shelves were always full of preserves and spices from exotic places.

Through these images, readers can feel the warmth and comfort of the grandmother's house, and understand why it holds such a special place in the speaker's heart.

Emotions

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of "Sestina" is the emotions it evokes. Through the repetition of the end-words and the use of vivid imagery, the poem creates a sense of nostalgia and longing for the past. The speaker is reflecting on memories of his grandmother and her house, and the emotions he feels are raw and visceral.

In the final stanza, the speaker writes:

And tears are on my face, the tears that fell when she died; tears I wouldn't wipe away, wanting to preserve them like drops of rain, and knowing if I did wipe them away they would only gather and thicken like the drops on the greenhouse glass, and I have heard the almanac's brittle pages turning.

Here, the speaker is overcome with grief for his grandmother, and the tears that he didn't wipe away are symbolic of his desire to hold onto his memories of her. The final image of the almanac's pages turning is a reminder that time is passing, and the memories will eventually fade away.

Interpretation

As with any work of art, "Sestina" can be interpreted in a variety of ways depending on the reader's perspective. However, one possible interpretation is that the poem is a meditation on the passage of time and the importance of memories.

Through the repetition of the end-words and the use of vivid imagery, Lehman creates a sense of nostalgia and longing for the past. The speaker is reflecting on memories of his grandmother and her house, and the emotions he feels are raw and visceral.

At the same time, the poem is a reminder that memories are fleeting, and that time will eventually erase them. The final image of the almanac's pages turning is a symbol of this passing of time, and a reminder that we should cherish our memories while we still have them.

Conclusion

David Lehman's "Sestina" is a masterpiece of poetry that showcases the power of repetition, imagery, and emotion. Through its use of a complex form and carefully crafted language, the poem takes readers on a journey of memories and emotions that is both timeless and universal.

Whether you are a lover of poetry or a casual reader, "Sestina" is a work that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. Its themes of time, memory, and loss are ones that we all grapple with, and its use of language to evoke powerful emotions is a testament to the power of poetry to touch our lives.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

Sestina: A Masterpiece of Poetic Form and Emotion

David Lehman's "Sestina" is a poem that captivates the reader with its intricate structure and emotional depth. Written in the form of a sestina, a complex poetic form that requires the repetition of six end-words throughout the poem, Lehman's work is a testament to the power of form and structure in poetry.

At its core, "Sestina" is a poem about loss and the struggle to come to terms with it. The poem begins with the speaker reflecting on a moment from his childhood, when he and his mother were watching a movie together. The speaker's mother is described as "smiling" and "radiant," and the memory is one of happiness and warmth. However, as the poem progresses, it becomes clear that this memory is tinged with sadness, as the speaker is forced to confront the fact that his mother is no longer alive.

The repetition of the end-words throughout the poem serves to reinforce this sense of loss and the speaker's struggle to come to terms with it. The end-words - "house," "mother," "change," "art," "boy," and "watch" - are repeated in a specific pattern throughout the poem, with each stanza ending with a different permutation of the end-words. This repetition creates a sense of circularity and inevitability, as if the speaker is trapped in a cycle of grief that he cannot escape.

Despite this sense of inevitability, however, there is also a sense of hope and resilience in the poem. The speaker's memories of his mother are vivid and joyful, and he is able to find solace in them even as he grapples with his loss. In the final stanza of the poem, the speaker reflects on the fact that he is now a father himself, and that he is able to pass on his memories of his mother to his own children. This sense of continuity and connection serves as a powerful counterpoint to the sense of loss and grief that permeates the rest of the poem.

One of the most striking aspects of "Sestina" is the way in which Lehman uses language to convey emotion. The poem is full of vivid, sensory details - the "smell of mowed grass," the "sound of a jet," the "taste of chocolate" - that serve to ground the reader in the speaker's world and create a sense of intimacy and immediacy. At the same time, Lehman's language is often highly metaphorical and symbolic, with images of "the moon's white eye" and "the sun's red mouth" serving to convey the speaker's emotional state.

The poem's use of metaphor is particularly effective in its portrayal of the speaker's mother. Throughout the poem, the mother is associated with images of light and warmth - she is described as "radiant," "smiling," and "golden" - which serve to emphasize her importance to the speaker and the sense of loss that he feels. At the same time, however, the mother is also associated with images of change and transformation, as in the line "my mother's face is a memory / that visits me in dreams, changing." This duality of light and change serves to underscore the complexity of the speaker's relationship with his mother and the depth of his grief.

In addition to its emotional depth and intricate structure, "Sestina" is also a poem that rewards close reading and analysis. The repetition of the end-words creates a sense of pattern and symmetry that is both pleasing to the ear and intellectually stimulating, as the reader tries to discern the underlying logic of the poem's structure. Similarly, the poem's use of metaphor and symbolism invites the reader to delve deeper into the speaker's emotional state and the themes of loss and continuity that underlie the poem.

In conclusion, David Lehman's "Sestina" is a masterpiece of poetic form and emotion. Through its intricate structure, vivid language, and powerful imagery, the poem conveys the complexity of grief and the struggle to come to terms with loss. At the same time, however, the poem also offers a sense of hope and resilience, as the speaker is able to find solace in his memories of his mother and the continuity of life. For anyone interested in the power of poetry to convey the deepest emotions and insights of the human experience, "Sestina" is a must-read.

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