City Eclogue Part 2

The second half of City Eclogue was somewhat easier to understand, though not by much. I could follow the themes of the poems though which is an improvement over the first half.

Ornithologies is the scientific name for the study of birds, which makes sense since all the poems make references to birds of some sort. In the first poem in the section, Urban Nature, he says it is specifically "not the dead of no bird sing" and he also mentions the "hawk's kiosks". The topic then skips two poems to come back in Open/Back Up when he mentions "the auspice" which I was proud to have noticed considering my inability to understand poetry very well. In Monk's Bird Book it mentions morning doves and talks extensively about owls and their “soft, silent feathers”. I suppose this section of poetry was a bit easier to understand than the first two sections of the book, though not by much. The random spaces and blank pages are still causing me strife and I’m glad that we should be moving on.

One poem I found interesting from the second half of City Eclogue was Simple As One Two. It was a bit easier for me to understand than the some of the other poems for which I was thankful. I like that he asks why should someone have to play sick from work just to get some time to himself? I had to take a couple days off over the course of my years in high school just because I felt like I needed a day for me. Of course, I had to pretend to be sick or I would’ve gotten in trouble. I really think that there is no reason why you have to act sick just to get a day off from work or school a few days a year. And even when you play sick from work or school, you can’t go anywhere because you can’t be seen by coworkers or by your parents.

As riveting as I found City Eclogue, no sarcasm I promise, I’m glad that I don’t have to look at Mr. Ed’s version of poetry anymore but I can definitely say its been a good experience. I may have barely understood most of the poems, and I may still not understand Mr. Ed’s logic in how he spaces out his poems, but I can say that he’s definitely unique. In some poems there would be two lines and then the thought wouldn’t be completed until the next stanza. As opposed to the first half of the book, there was some punctuation which helped with my comprehension of the poems a bit I suppose. It was definitely an adventure reading City Eclogue, but like all adventures there’s always an end. Thank God.