October
This poem is written in seven stanzas which present mini episodes from the speakers life that present the month of October. It is likely that the speaker is Swenson herself, as the tone is melancholic and reflective, presenting personal memories, for example 'I remember my daddy's hand.' The poem is rooted in natural imagery to create autumnal scenes, like the 'red leaf riding the slow flow of gray water,' which highlights the changing color of the leaves.
The natural imagery continues with descriptions of 'the blanched, diminished, ragged swamp and woods,' and the 'bramble and 'tangle,' therein. The imperfection of this scene is idealized, showing the wonderful realities of nature in autumn, as the triplet of negative adjectives 'blanched, diminished' and 'ragged,' are highlighted, both literarily and metaphorically, in the sibilance, 'the sun still spills into.'
Green Red Brown and White
This poem is very visual and initially describes an apple. In each image Swenson presents she repeats the colors in the title. The simile 'smelled like snow,' emphasized by sibilance, emphasizes the and evokes the color white before it is even mentioned and gives the reader a sensory experience. Swenson describes the seeds of the apple as 'brown winks' that 'slept in sockets of green,' giving the apple a personality of its own.
Swenson then uses this natural, colorful imagery to present direction, or lack of direction, as well as a sense of adventure or wandering. She describes herself as 'lost in the hairy wood,' which initially could create an uneasy tone and mood to the poem, but her description of 'red berries,' almost guiding her or being a map along the path makes it seem more like a discovery.
The metaphor of the path as the path of life is completely entwined with images of nature, as Swenson reflects 'Wherever I am led I move within the care of the season hidden in the creases of her skirts.' She explains that 'each path leads both out and in,' and reveals that 'when the {creases] are white I am not lost.' This whole metaphor seems to be a reassurance that the different paths that people choose in life all lead to where they are meant to be and when they seem to be unclear, it is only for a time and does not mean one has lost their way.
