Kreisler
In the short poem “Kreisler” the narrator urges an unnamed “mister” (l. 1) to sell him an old, used, but very special violin.
The narrator names the different parts of the violin, like the strings that are made from horsehair and connects these to the violin’s passionate past.
The name in the poem’s title might refer to Fritz Kreisler, a famous Austrian violinist and composer.
Clinton South of Polk
In the short poem “Clinton South of Polk” the narrator is walking down a street, through a neighborhood with predominantly Italian-born residents and listens to the arguments between the children there.
For the narrator however, these fights almost sound like music in their melody and colorfulness and he confesses to find listening to them comforting.
The narrator names the exact street that he is walking on, Clinton street, which implies that the city is in the United States, though it is unnamed which. The street is located south of another street called Polk Street.
Jerry
In the poem “Jerry” the female narrator tells the story of how and why she killed her abusive husband.
The narrator begins the poem by stating that she married a man called “Jerry, the iceman” (l. 2), ostensibly to get out of a boring life of working as a seamstress.
The only way that she characterizes him initially is as very big and very strong, while she emphasizes her own smaller size in comparison and hints at how easily he could physically overpower her.
In the second part of the poem the narrator retells how her husband would come home drunk frequently and force himself on her. After tolerating it for two years, the narrator finally refused him and was brutally hit in the face in response. This caused the narrator to shoot her husband in the head while he slept, with a gun that they had in their home.
In the last part of the poem the narrator, now in prison on a life sentence for murder, exclaims how she doesn’t regret her action.
Buffalo Dusk
This poem reflects on the disappearance of buffaloes and the passing of those who witnessed them in their prime.
It mourns the loss of the majestic buffalo herds that once roamed the prairies, describing how they would paw the earth and create dust with their hooves as they moved in a grand spectacle at dusk.
The poem emphasizes the idea that both the buffaloes and the people who witnessed them have vanished, highlighting the profound changes that have occurred in the natural world and human history.
