Linh Dinh (1963 / Saigon, Vietnam)

What do you think this poem is about?

Are You Refined?

I used to paint with linseed,
Now I paint with crude oil.

Draped in cheap oil and sweating oil,
Under an increasingly hot sun, I steer
An oil car, on oil, towards my oil job.

Look at that skyscraper made with oil!
Billboard-size minimalist oils decorating
Spanking lobbies of unctuous firms.

Before meals, I pray and take an oil pill.
To feel upper or downer, I chug a lug oil.

Linh Dinh
Submitted: Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Edited: Sunday, March 20, 2011

Comments about this poem (Are You Refined? by Linh Dinh )

Enter the verification code :

  • Linh Dinh (8/3/2007 8:45:00 PM)

    Hi Denis Joe,

    I watch the price of oil ($75.48 today, going to $80 soon, maybe by the end of this month) , and keep an eye on the peak oil situation. We're in deep trouble, my friend. Thanks, again, for your comment. I'm very glad you like this poem. Cheers!

    0 person liked.
    		0 person did not like.
  • Joseph Daly (8/3/2007 7:46:00 PM)

    There is a strong pathos to this poem. Once theming of the matter of oil wih the starkness of the form gives this great depth.

    The opening couplet is almost painful to read and sets the tone for what is a massive enterprise, but yet condensed. The 2-3-3-2 structure of the piece belies just how big this poem actually is. The couplets that sandwich the troilets give the reader the impression of travesty. What is the filling is tragedy.

    An excellent poem!

    0 person liked.
    		0 person did not like.
  • Linh Dinh (7/17/2007 4:51:00 PM)

    Thanks for your comments, Joscephine. How we organize our communities is a big concern of mine, hence this poem about oil-dependency-Linh

    0 person liked.
    		0 person did not like.
  • Joscephine Gomez (7/17/2007 8:22:00 AM)

    I would have understood your poem were it not for the title which is very thought-provoking. One has to dig the soil that is your fertile imagination to mine all oil and what they represent.

    0 person liked.
    		0 person did not like.
Read all 4 comments »

PoemHunter.com Updates

Top 500 Poems

  1. Phenomenal Woman
    Maya Angelou
  2. Still I Rise
    Maya Angelou
  3. The Road Not Taken
    Robert Frost
  4. If You Forget Me
    Pablo Neruda
  5. Dreams
    Langston Hughes
  6. Annabel Lee
    Edgar Allan Poe
  7. If
    Rudyard Kipling
  8. I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You
    Pablo Neruda
  9. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
    Maya Angelou
  10. A Dream Within A Dream
    Edgar Allan Poe
The Complete List of Top 500 Poems »
[Hata Bildir]