Margaret+Atwood-Madeline+Hawkins

radiant flesh. Incandescent.36
In the poem, "Morning in the Burned House," the reader is consoling herself about the grief she feels from a fire. This fire has destroyed everything- her home, her family, her daily routine, even her own property such as a bowl and spoon. She states, "The spoon which was melted scrapes against/ the bowl which was melted also." Objects that facilitated her daily needs and fed her are no longer usable, therefore, she is helpless and in need. After addressing the fact that her utensils do not fulfill her needs, she calls out to her family- brother, sister, mother, father- and they too, do not respond. They are no longer there for her, once again, leaving her feeling helpless and alone. Seeing all these differences around her, she continues to reject the idea that she too was in the fire. She refuses to feel the pain that the fire has brought to her. She convinces herself that her family, is not dead, but rather gone, soon to return from a day at the shore. She sees that the dishes are unwashed and says, "The day is bright and songless." She, like every other day, feels bright and the same, however, the day is different, permanently changed, never to return to what she has always known. Birds usually chirp when everything is fine, yet the silence signifies the gravity of the situation. She observes nature, seeing discord in what should be harmonious. The swirls in the oilcloth, flaws in glass, and watchful forest all signify that she is mourning and waiting for better days. She has been a victim of a horrible natural disaster- fire- and this fire has destroyed the beauty and happiness in her life. After observing everything around her, she begins to take note of herself and identify that she too was affected by the fire. She sees that her body, similar to her spoon and bowl, is no longer useful to her for she was killed. Her clothes- which sole purpose is to protect and cover her skin- is burning. She ends her sorrowful observations by stating, "holding my cindery, non-existent, radiant flesh. Incandescent." As much as she wants to find happiness, love, and completeness, all she can notice is that she is in fact dead, and no longer there. I found this poem to be very disturbing and dark. It approaches death in a sense that death never really occurred. I think it is very relevant to the human experience of emotions for often people are in denial of reality.

This poem reminded me of the lyrics of Rihanna's song "Love the Way You Lie." In the song, although she is being hurt, she seeks love and happiness, when in reality she is continually refusing to believe that she is hurting herself. http://www.directlyrics.com/rihanna-love-the-way-you-lie-lyrics.html

You Fit Into Me   Margaret Atwood You fit into me 1 like a hook into an eye 2 A fish hook 3 An open eye 4 At first, when reading this poem, I assumed it was a love poem. The idea of a hook and eye illustrated to me the two lover's compatibility. This expression I found similiar to the expression: two peas in a pod. The first sentence, " You fit into me" is a direct statement making the reader feel that there were no flaws or problems, the two lovers were a perfect match for eachother. However the next sentence, "like a hook into an eye" disputes the positive feeling of the first sentence. The hook, a pointy object, catches the eye, destructing it's sole purpose: to see the truth and be aware. In a relationship, when one is more visible to what is going on then the other, an unhealthy relationship develops. This changes the tone from love to tragedy. The next statement, "A fish hook" serves as a metaphor, to the toxic circumstances of the relationship. A fish hook shows that the relationship was a trap and that one lover had been manipulated into believing the lies of the other. Gullible in action, the lover took the bait and was drawn into the "open eye" of the other who knew the entire time- the real meaning of his actions. The one lover, who was aware of his actions, had ulterior motives.The brevity and shortness of the poem alludes to how rapid a relationship can seem so good and then turn to bad. I loved this poem because its precise explanation and clever word choice. It has a much deeper meaning than first assumed. It surprised me, which is what I loved about it. I believe this photo really sums up the idea of this poem. []

Flying Inside Your Own Body
Margaret Atwood Your lungs fill & spread themselves, 1 wings of pink blood, and your bones 2 empty themselves and become hollow.When you breathe in you’ll lift like a balloon 3 and your heart is light too & huge, 4 beating with pure joy, pure helium. 5 The sun’s white winds blow through you, 6 there’s nothing above you, 7 you see the earth now as an oval jewel, 8 radiant & seablue with love. 9 It’s only in dreams you can do this. 10 Waking, your heart is a shaken fist, 11 a fine dust clogs the air you breathe in; 12 the sun’s a hot copper weight pressing straight 13 down on the thick pink rind of your skull. 14 It’s always the moment just before gunshot. 15 You try & try to rise but you cannot. 16

Throughout the poem, Flying Inside Your Body, Margaret Atwood discusses the path of discovery for complete happiness between your internal self and your external surroundings. Lungs- facilitators, vital to your body for receiving oxygen- said to "fill & spread themselves." Lungs allow you to receive the breath of life, making you feel vivacious and aware. The "wings of pink blood" symbolize freedom. Wings give you the opportunity to "fly" throughout your body seeking joyful bliss. The color pink serves as a reference to human flesh, hinting that this sense of freedom is the result of activity occuring inside the human body rather than from external sources. The "hollow bones" symbolize outlets and opportunities that with the power of your lungs, you can fly through and discover.The reference to a balloon shows how this joy is quickly found, fulfilling you, then released in the next moment. Your heart, filled to its maximum amount of "helium" or joy, must continue to beat to allow you to feel this high and remain in this state of mind. Consumed totally inside yourself and living off this internal happiness, you do not feel or forsee the world's problems coming towards you. The wind, which is invisible, "blows through you." Bright with hope or "radiant", you view the outside world as free of hardship, perfect as an "oval jewel." However, the color seablue signifies that you see what is harmful, but are so consumed with your joyful hope on the outside you choose to ignore it. The narrator states the reality that you can on experience this type of happiness in an alternate state or world, otherwise known as "dreams." The brutality of real life, shakes you with a "fist" bringing upon you pain, torture, and uncomfortableness. The outside world is "dusted" with sin and harm, preventing you from receiving the clean oxygen you seek. In contrast to the previous line describing internal joy of "there's nothing above you" (7), the external world acts as a "hot copper weight pressing straight down on the thick pink rind of your skull." The diction such as "shaken, hot, thick, and rind" give the tone of painful, unbearable circumstances, whereas, earlier words such as "hollow, radiant, light, and joy" give hint to the paradise of internal peace. The ending two lines, reveal the narrator's fear of death, and the precedence that reality takes over internal dreamlike fantasies. The terrifying reality of a gunshot, paralyzes the narrator in fear preventing her from seeking peace inside herself. This song, Its a Great Day to Be Alive, by Travis Tritt reminded me of how his feeling or absolute joy inside yourself can overlook some of the troubles you face everyday in reality. http://www.elyrics.net/read/t/travis-tritt-lyrics/it_s-a-great-day-to-be-alive-lyrics.html

Night Poem
Margaret Atwood There is nothing to be afraid of, 1 it is only the windchanging to the east, it is only 2 your father the thunder 3 your mother the rain 4

In this country of water 5 with its beige moon damp as a mushroom, 6 its drowned stumps and long birds 7 that swim, where the moss grows 8 on all sides of the treesand your shadow is not your shadow 9 but your reflection, 10

your true parents disappear 11 when the curtain covers your door. 12 We are the others, 13 the ones from under the lake 14 who stand silently beside your bed 15 with our heads of darkness. 16 We have come to cover you 17 with red wool, 18 with our tears and distant whispers.19

You rock in the rain's arms 20 the chilly ark of your sleep, 21 while we wait, your night 22 father and mother 23 with our cold hands and dead flashlight, 24 knowing we are only 25 the wavering shadows thrown 26 by one candle, in this echo 27 you will hear twenty years later. 28

This poem begins as the narrator consoling a child to sleep during a bad storm. Hypothetically, the father is "thunder" and the mother is "rain." Its tone is comforting, and paternal. The second stanza begins, changing the tone from comforting to a sense of brainwashing. The water symbolizing the fickleness of change in the storm, and the "beige moon" symbolizing no longer the clear, radiant light amid the darkness. The "drowned moss" and "growing stumps" are hinting at the child's sense of entrapment and fear. The last two lines state " on all sides of the trees and your shadow is not your shadow but your reflection" (9-10). This reveals the loss of identity and questioning of who she really is. The darkness of the forest and storm are starting to blind the child leaving her alone and nervous. A shadow is only created when you are on a journey or are going somewhere, but in order to see a reflection, one must be still or stagnant. This child, who waits stagnantly in the darkness, is consumed with fear allowing this dark feeling to overtake him. The next stanza, the tone turns evilly manipulating when it states, "your true parents disappear"(11). The parents, who represent love, safety, and security, are nowhere in sight leaving this child helpless and alone. The curtain serves a device to hide the child, destroying any hope of happiness and relief. In contrast to " the country of water," the narrator reveals that the ones of darkness come from under the water. Therefore, acting as the banished, unwanted outcasts of society. The next five stanzas describing the methods of the people of darkness, hint at the methods of a burial service done after a tragic death. This thought is suggests with the diction of " tears, and distant whispers"(19). The color red, hints to not only the color of blood but the color of the Quebec flag, the home of Margaret Atwood. The last stanza, once again reinstating the theme of death. Using description such as "cold hands" and a "dead flashlight." In this poem, the flashlight, not only does not produce light in more, therefore cannot guide someone in the right direction or to a desired object. Death is inevitable and just as it " waits in your night" it will reappear maybe "twenty years later."

This child's lullaby reminded me of this poem even with it's slight darkness in it's tone.

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