M.R. Lowe - Old Burying Ground (1928)
Forgotten Poems #14
—: Old Burying Ground :—
A thin gray stone
crumbling and worn
leans over a rectangle of daisies
and tall grass.
“Orena
Consort of..................
Born Ap...... ..2, 1798
D..... …........1845
May her sou. r...... in peace.”
An aspen drips
thin yellow leaves
From somewhere above
comes the shrill piping
of a mocking bird.
M.R. Lowe (p. 1928, etc.)
P: Prairie Schooner (1928), etc.
Student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The only poem I’ve found by Lowe:
If you find more, please let me know!
Like the Emily Holmes Coleman poem from yesterday, Lowe’s poem has 14-lines, and breaks down structurally into the 4 most common short stanza lengths used in English-language poetry: 1 couplet (2-line stanza) + 1 tercet (3-line) + 1 quatrain (4-line) + 1 cinquain (or quintain; 5-line).
Taken as a whole, Lowe’s poem divides neatly into two halves, with an abrupt “cut” between them. We are not told why these two moments are placed next to one another (i.e. meaning); instead, we must explore the possibilities found in the gaps and silences (i.e. mending). Each half also has its own internal “cut” producing further layers: the description of the gravestone cut against the fragmented inscription, the aspen cut against the mockingbird.
The second-half makes for a striking standalone verse, and its form is highly reminiscent of Japanese tanka, a popular influence on numerous 1910s and 20s free verse poets (i.e. F.S. Flint, Adelaide Crapsey, Amy Lowell, Ezra Pound, Langston Hughes, et al.);
An aspen drips
thin yellow leaves
From somewhere above
comes the shrill piping
of a mocking bird.
Compare this to one of W.G. Aston’s tanka translations, for instance, from the late-1890s;
Among
The hills the snow still lies—
But the willows
Where the torrents rush together
Are in full bud.
In tanka, this technique is called “ku’gire” (literally: phrase-cuttings, scraps, pieces, fragments, etc.). In hokku and haiku, descendants of tanka, the same effect is achieved through the use of “kire’ji” (literally: cutting-words, etc.). The impact of the poem arises from fragmentation and suggestive combination, rather than description and explanation . . .
For M.R. Lowe by Dick Whyte dawn all bloody and golden— the branch one leaf lighter than before xoxo dw
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