Place Poems

"Filling Station" by Elizabeth Bishop drew me in with vivid details that make you feel like you are at the gas station with her. Bishop uses lots of literal imagery where she describes and observes everything around her. She uses a little of hyperbole when she describes the comic books as the " only note of color"because she wants the reader to imagine a dim, gray place. Bishop also uses a little bit of personification when she describes the cans of oil as speaking to "high-strung automobiles" that "softly say: ESSO-SO-SO-SO." She also plays with tone by describing the gas station as "dirty", "gray", and a "black translucency." Bishop gives the poem a gross, but comforting place to be because even with the ugliest places, there is always someone that finds them beautiful. 

Similarly, "Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota" by James Wright uses imagery, but his imagery portrays a more figurative kind of imagery. When he says, "The cowbells follow one another", he figuratively means the sound of the cowbells travels while he swings in the hammock. I really like how this poem is so simple because he just sits in a hammock and describes what he sees or hears or feels. Wright uses a metaphor when he says, "The droppings of last year's horses/ Blaze up into golden stones" and obviously they do not literally become golden stones, but he sees the light makes the "droppings" seem golden. Wright uses assonance comparing what is on his right, "To my right,/ In a field of sunlight between two pines..." Here, he uses the vowel sound of "i" in the words "right", "sunlight", and "pines." This poem has an overall relaxing and peaceful poem that makes any reader feel comfortable. The ending line jolted me because it was so sudden and different from the rest of the poem. I cannot decide if it means he has wasted his life enjoying everything around him, living in the moment, or if he just comes to this conclusion in general while sitting and thinking about his past achievements and future goals.