The Scarlet Ibis, Section VII Poem by Susan Hahn
The Scarlet Ibis, Section VII
Bird
Once, I got lost,
flew over that place,
saw the tourists in their wrinkled pastels.
The memorial between the barracks B
The bronze barbed-wire figures twisted
to torment, the wedged-shaped
building, its barred entrance,
the strip of marble extending
through a hole in the roof,
the menorah resting at the top.
I felt weak
and landed on it.
No one could believe what they saw B
me resting there B
so they pretended not to see.
(pause)
I stood for much more than a moment,
watched all those bare legs
move from spot to spot,
thought how much I needed
to find a way back
to my flock.
Lady
And you expect me to believe this?
Bird
As I do you
(pause)
and do not.
I strongly agree with Hannah Newman! The book The Scarlet Ibis, from which this excerpt was taken, is a book of genius, which we read in my poetry seminar at Berkeley and was lauded by our professor as perhaps the finest use of metaphor in a poetry book that he had ever seen. Through metaphor it tells a fascinating story that you will not forget!
The Scarlet Ibis is one of the finest poetry books of the last twenty years (per my Lit professor at Penn and per me) and this intriguing excerpt supports that statement. I highly recommend the book - which features an extraordinary story replete with brilliant use of metaphor - to all serious readers of poetry.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/26/2024 5:40:17 AM # 1.0.0.1119
i stumbled upon this. i'm not 'into' metaphor. so who actually wrote this poem? a PH member or not? bri :)