"not the shape on paper -- though
that, too -- but the
uninterfering means on paper:’’
In the poem entitled "Poetics’’, the narrator discusses the importance of the creative process once more. He mentions how from the darkness good things come from and how literature emerges from the darkness. He notes however that not the "shape’’ of the words matter but rather their "means’’. What the narrator wanted to highlight though this is the idea that what is important is not the way in which a poem was written, if it rhymes of if it has a good form but rather if it transmits a certain message or if it has a meaning that can be understand by other people.
"every living thing in
siege: the demand is life, to keep life:’’
In the poem entitled "Corsons Inlet’’ the narrator analyzes the way in which life goes by watching various birds. The narrator stops and looks at the bids as they fight over crabs and fishes on the beach and then makes the remark that every living thing, humans included, have a sole purpose in life and that is surviving. The narrator recognizes how surviving is the most important thing both for the human species and for the animals living on this earth and thus he points out how this is common to us and to the animal kingdom alike.
"no arranged terror: no forcing of image, plan,
or thought:
no propaganda, no humbling of reality to precept:’’
As the narrator continues to watch the world around him, he notes how different nature is from the normal society in which humans live in. Nature, as the narrator puts it, is less harsh than the human society because no terror exists in it. Also, there are no creatures trying to convince other creatures to behave in a certain way and in this sense no propaganda exists. The quote from above is also important because it reveals the things hated by the narrator and how he would like the world to be in reality.
