Our Pilot

"I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar."
("Crossing the Bar" - Alfred, Lord Tennyson)

I was trying to figure out what the word "bar" means in this poem.  Obviously, it metaphorically represents some sort of barrier the speaker must cross after death in order to reach heaven.  However, I thought that the word may have a definition associated with the sea.  Apparently, a type of seabird is called a "sea bar" or "tern." I found this interesting because maybe the word "bar" is used in more than one context.  The speaker literally wants to cross the bar in order to reach heaven; however, the "mourning of the bar" can represent a bird's call as it flies along the beach.  These birds metaphorically represent those who mourn for a person who has died.

In the excerpt above, the word "pilot" is capitalized.  At first, I thought this was just a thing with poets. Emily Dickinson capitalizes all of her nouns, so everyone else should too, right?  Well, upon closer examination, the pilot in this poem is metaphorically referring to God.  In our life, God is the one who choses when we will join his kingdom and what will happen to us.  The speaker is trying to prove to his loved ones that mourning loss after death is pointless because God has carved a pathway for each and every person on Earth.  Describing God as a pilot is appropriate because the speaker is putting "out to sea" in the first stanza and embarking on a journey in the third stanza.  In both scenarios, a pilot is needed in order to guide the way.

"but sohelpmegod he starts talkin
bout a golden ball
an how i can be a princess
me a princess"
("Hazel Tells LaVerne" - Katharyn Howd Machan)

I love this poem.  First of all, the poem takes place in a restaurant in New York.  For example, the speaker says "an he says" and "well i screams."  These phrases exemplify the typical New Yourker accent.  The lack of punctuation and grammar shows how the speaker is not educated.  I'm assuming she works in the restaurant industry because she was cleaning her "howard johnsons ladies room" and she is speaking to her coworker.  In my experience at Steak n' Shake, servers are usually more personal with one another just because we have to help each other in order to get everything done.  The speaker does not speak formally with the person she is speaking with; therefore, both people are probably uneducated, minimum wage servers.

 The theme of this poem is:  When an entire society sets all odds against you, it is hard to believe that something beyond the stereotype will occur in your life.  The speaker obviously has all odds against her. After all, before this "magical" event occurred, she was cleaning the bathrooms of another person's business.  When the frog appears in the toilet bowl, she does not believe it.  She thinks that she is only a lowly commoner with nothing special to offer to society.  However, the frog tells the woman that she can become a princess with just a kiss.  When the frog asks her to kiss him, the speaker calls the frog a "pervert" and comically attempts to flush him down the toilet.  I think the frog represents the dream every girl has of becoming a princess.  However, every little girl soon realizes that this dream is quite impossible.  It is quite depressing... Here is a clip from The Princess and the Frog :)

Love is a Battlefield

"That year we hardly slept, waking like inmates
who beat the walls..."
("Getting Out" - Cleopatra Mathis)

This poem creates a shift in tone that explains the before and after of a divorce.  Before the divorce occurred, the speaker uses the pronoun "we" in order to explain how the two people acted as a unit.  In the quote above, the couple is described using "we"; however, the marriage has made the two people "inmates."  This word has a pretty negative connotation because it connects with prison.  In this context, the couple feels as if they are inmates because they are slaves to their own marriage.  The speaker is trying to show how they are trapped because they care about each other, but they are also miserable because of all the problems the marriage has caused.  Later in the poem, a shift in pronouns occurs.  Instead of the pronoun "we," the pronoun "you" is used to place blame on the speaker's former husband.  The speaker accuses the husband of trying "to pack up and go."  At the end of this accusation based stanza, the speaker refers to the pair as a unit once again.  I think this couple has major problems because they can only unite through arguing and problems.  It is interesting how they are only described as a unit after a major fight occurs.

Here is a song that relates to the poem in a way.  My dad would be so proud.

What is Beauty?

"And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare

As any she belied with false compare."
("My mistress' eye" - William Shakespeare)

Central theme:  Too many authors use romantic cliches in poetry that do not hold true with every individual.

I love how Shakespeare can insult poets and totally get away with it.  I wish I was as creative and witty.

In this poem, Shakespeare exaggerates qualities that are often glorified by poets by pairing the qualities with negative diction.  For example, instead of "hair like spun gold," the author describes the mistress' hair as "black wires" growing on her head.  Instead of using this typical cliche, Shakespeare describes the hair with a seemingly oxymoron-ish twist.  When I first think of black wires, I think of garbage.  However, beautiful art can be made from wires.  Therefore, the definition of beauty varies from person to person.  The woman Shakespeare is describing is not stereotypically beautiful.  To illustrate, she does not  have "roses" in her cheeks and her lips are not the color of "coral."  However, the woman's natural appearance is beautiful to the speaker.  This poem proves that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Stereotypes used in poetry do not describe what is beautiful to every person in the world.

The excerpt above is taken from the conclusion of the poem.  This quote signaled a change in idea and tone because the speaker directly states "And yet...".  In this excerpt, the speaker is saying that love in poetry is as rare as woman being lied to with false comparisons.  This statement is sarcastic; love in poetry is not rare (in fact, many people believe poetry can only be about love).  Shakespeare is criticizing his fellow poets and challenging them to use a little originality in their works.      

A Dark Past

"Bathed in a cold quicksilver sweat, wilt lie
A verier ghost then I..."
("The Apparition" - John Donne)

This poem seems a little bitter, and I think I understand why.  Donne's diction seems to be generally negative with words such as "scorn," "murderess," and "feigned vestal."  In context, "feigned vestal" means a a person who is pretending to be a virgin.  Obviously the woman is not a virgin.  I think the speaker was a short lived lover who does not want the woman to ruin her life by committing two sins: adultery and lying.  She can not take back the sin of adultery; however, she can avoid lying by telling her husband (I assume) about her past.  The speaker is not seeking revenge even though he seems bitter.  I think he is just warning her about what might happen if she does not tell the truth.

The quote above describes the husband's reaction after a hypothetical scenario is laid out by the speaker.  The speaker says if the woman does not repent, she will be forced to call out her former lover's name in her sleep, and her husband will then know of her past.  Donne uses the word "bathed" to show how the emotion will quickly engulf the man.    In this context, quicksilver means a quick change.  Instead of stating that the man was shocked, Donne compares the husband to a ghost.  This does not literally mean that the man turned to a ghost; in contrast, it means that the man became "as pale as a ghost," showing that he was shocked and devastated by the situation.  In this poem, diction ultimately sets the dark, bitter tone.

Amuricah!

"thy sons acclaim your gorious name by gorry 

by jingo by gee by gosh by gum..."

("next to of course god america i" - e.e. cummings)

Well, I have to say I did not understand the majority of this poem.  From what I can tell, the speaker is either totally uneducated or just totally wasted.  I'm not sure which is correct, however, nothing he says grammatically makes sense.  I love how at the beginning Cummings mixes two of the most patriotic songs of America with the lines "oh say can you see by the dawn's early" and "my country 'tis of."  The speaker never actually finished either song, but instead, uses the words to create his own thought (about what, I am not sure).  I think the speaker is saying that as America ages, more and more people migrate to this country seeking dreams and happiness.  America is personified as a god in the poem because so many people see the United States as the "promise land."  Cummings satirically states that young men sacrifice themselves to America in order to make the country more "beautiful."  He says that nothing could be more beautiful then "these heroic happy dead."  This is ironic because dead people can not physically be happy; however, many people in America assume that those who are killed in the name of this fine country die happily.  I am not 100% sure, but I believe that this poem is criticizing the American people.  Many people today are ignorant of the horrible things that occur in the world.  Also, citizens only want to believe the happy and dream-like view of America.     

The Sugar Coat

"Dear Mom, sure rains a lot here."
("APO 96225" - Larry Rottmann)

In our society, truth is often hidden in order to protect the fragile minds of America's citizens.  Every account of a tragedy is somehow sugar-coated so that Americans who hear the news do not discover the real truth.  This poem points out this flaw in America through satirical understatements.  In this line from the poem, a soldier from the Vietnam War writes to his mother about the war.  Instead of telling her the details, he just tells her about the weather using an understatement of how things are going.  However, the mother is not satisfied with the small talk.  She wants to know the every detail of the war and how her son is actually doing.  After hearing the truth, she denies that this is even occurring.  The father even accuses the son of writing a purposefully depressing letter just to worry his mother. 

America is exactly like this family.  People in our country only want to know about the good things that occur in the world.  Just last week, we watched a documentary in Government about 9/11.  I had always heard about this tragedy, but never before did I actually realize how great of an impact the attack made on our nation.  My understanding was due to the sugar-coating of accounts by broadcasting stations.  When I saw the real footage, I realized what had actually happened on that day.  I think America purposefully builds naive citizens in order to allow government to have more control.  That is a different story....

A Dangerous Game

"well-washed dollars, legal tender
for all debts public and private,
intact despite agitation;"
("Sorting Laundry" - Elisavietta Ritchie)

Well, this poem was a little bit bitter.  I can totally understand where this woman is coming from, and I thought it was clever how the author revealed this attitude to the reader.  Instead of directly stating how the speaker feels, images of clothes and other things put into the laundry are described.  My favorite image is in the quote above.  I think the "dollars" in this scenario represent the two people in the relationship.  Both were well worn and accustomed to each other.  Both parties took care of each other in public and private even when times were tough.  The "tough times" are referenced through the word "debts."  The speaker says that the money was intact despite going through the wash just as relationships can put us through the ringer. However, true love stays in place even through complications.  The woman thought her relationship was perfect until the one day when she discovered it had all been a lie.  I like how the author subtly mentions this through the "strangely tailored shirt."  The speaker seems to show indifference; however, the reader can tell that the speaker is depressed because all the clothes that she posses could not fill "the empty side of the bed."  I think this side of the bed represents her heart.  The speaker believes that no one person can fill the part of her heart she has lost.

Ask Me in the 21st Century

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings;
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair."
("Ozymandias" - Percy Bysshe Shelley)

This picture is obviously real.

Ozymandias seems like a pretty mean dude.  He is characterized through many details such as "cold," "frown," and "wrinkled lip."  Personally, I would not want to be under his command.  However, the above excerpt is pretty ironic.  These words have stood the test of time; however, that is the only thing that has made it through the many years.  Around the statue is a "colossal wreck" which contains nothing.  No great power or empire exists from Ozymandias' time.  His statue stands alone among the sand - no person despairs at his work because all of it is gone.  Words may be eternal, but being eternal does not always mean they are true.

I'm not exactly sure what the image of the "hand" and the "heart" is referring too.  I was thinking that "the hand that mocked him" was a metaphor to the people that never thought that he could cause such destruction or have such a powerful rule.  Maybe "the heart that fed" is the people who served this tyrant.  The "hand" and "heart" are synecdoche because one part of a person represents an entire group of people.  A synecdoche is effective because the speaker is placing the blame at the "hand" and "heart" of those who mocked the tyrant.

Under Pressure

"To every woman a happy ending."
("Barbie Doll" - Marge Piercy)

The central theme of this poem is:  society's view of "perfection" can not be realized.

Evidence of imperfection exists throughout the poem.  First of all, the girl is said to be a "fat nose on thick legs."  In the poem, the girl is said to be intelligent, healthy, and strong.  However, not one person looks past her looks.  Also, the girl is said to be like a "fan belt" that wears out over time.  This simile is appropriate because women in today's culture are seen as objects over and over again.  Over time, this harsh view can wear away self confidence.  This can eventually lead to the suicide of many young women.  In the poem, the girl "cuts off her nose and legs."  This overstatement serves to show that the young girl killed herself by ridding herself of her "imperfections."  Unfortunately, many women see death as a happy ending away from all the pressures of life.

Today, society focuses way too much on looks.  From magazine to tv shows, the perfect body is always flashed in young girl's faces. The author is criticizing society's view on women.  This "perfect" image can never be accomplished realistically.  This poem reminded me of an ad we watched in AP Spanish.  When told to reflect on the commercial, I pretty much had the same reaction to the commercial as this poem.  Anorexia, bulimia, self-confidence issues, and depression usually all boil down to one cause:  societal pressure.

 

Questions, Questions.

"Or does it explode?"
("Dream Deferred" - Langston Hughes)

This poem only consists of rhetorical questions.  When I was first reading it, all I could think of was an annoying first grader who asks a millions questions.  However, these questions actually have a purpose.  These questions create images of things that slowly decay over time.  For example, a raisin that is left in the sun eventually will dry up.  Each image is connected to the question of how a dream is deferred.  The author is really asking:  How does a dream end in a person's life?  The slow-tempo images are juxtaposed with the question stated above.  This quote also contains an example of a metonymy.  The action of exploding is used to represent a bomb without directly mentioning the bomb.  This is effective because in the previous stanzas, imagery and similes are used to back up the reasoning.  The image of a bomb is powerful in and of itself to explain how a dream can die quickly and effect many people.  Rhetorical questions allow the reader to see the thought process of the speaker.  The last question is sudden and the opposite of the rest of the poem.  This really emphasizes that the speaker feels as if dreams can be taken from a person suddenly.

Love, that's enough for me

"But it's love that does us in."
("February" - Margaret Atwood)

We all know that feeling right after Christmas break - the anticipation for warm weather and spring break to roll around.  To me, February is a dull month with little to be excited for (besides Jimmy and Lizzie's birthdays of course!).  I honesty spend half of my time wishing it was spring.  This poem grasps that negative feeling through the symbol of the black cat.  I think this cat is a looming image of the misery the speaker feels about the late months of winter.  It is interesting that the cat sits on the speaker's chest; maybe the cat represents the depression on the mind and heart of the speaker throughout the dreary month.

The excerpt above is a paradox presented in the poem.  Before, the author blatantly states that humans should not have young in order to have a worry-free life.  At first, I was extremely shocked (after all, the author uses the image of a shark eating her young);  however, this paradox reveals something true about love.  Love brings humans happiness and joy in life; however, love can also bring heartache and worry.  For example, parents love their children, but if this child gets into trouble, this can cause heartache and worry for the parents.  Without children, there would be no love; on the other hand, there would also be no worry or stress in life.

Lipstick on a Pig

"Didn't you know?  It's been in all the papers,
to solve this problem, how they deal with beggars?
They take and throw them in the tidal rivers."
("Pink Dog" - Elizabeth Bishop)

The central idea of this poem is the poor treatment of those who appear to be impoverished, and the remedies (or lack there of) used to "solve" these problems.  The poem starts with light, carefree diction of a lovely day on the beach.  The sun is out, the sky, a bright shade of blue...and suddenly, the description is interrupted by a naked pink dog walking across the beach.  I admire how the author just nonchalantly states this like nothing is new or surprising.  Personally, I would be totally shocked.

After this stanza, the poem takes a turn toward the negative side of things.  The people automatically judge the dog and assume that she left her children to find food for herself.  I think the dog represents the poor in society; most people scoff and consider these people to be dirty and worthless. 

In the excerpt above, Bishop uses a hyperbole to show how the government only puts ridiculous plans into action that never have a chance of actually succeeding.  Bishop is encouraging the government to find a better solution to this huge problem.  Also, the community can not just dress up the beggars for Carnival and act like they are okay.   Putting lipstick on a pig does not solve anything.  Both the government and the community need to work together to find a solution. 

"Woe is Me"

"Six days of the week it soils
With its sickening poison - 
Just for paying a few bills!"
("Toads" - Philip Larkin)


Larkin combines both sarcasm and wit to criticize the middle class of his day.  The toad is used throughout as a symbol of the hardships in the average person's life.  Many feel as if they can not escape from their working reality.  The symbol of the toad is obviously negative; for example, the toad squats on his life with "sickening poison."  The middle class man is complaining because he has to work six days a week with no means of escaping his fate.  He even goes as far to say that the poorest of the poor have a "better life" because they do not have to work.  Even though they live in the worst of worst conditions, the speaker goes as far to say that "no one actually starves."  I'm assuming that the author is being sarcastic here.  Obviously, many people have died of starvation.  No living person has actually ever died from working day in and day out.  A second toad is mentioned later that is said to be inside the speaker.  This toad limits the speaker from money, girls, and fame.  Larkin is criticizing the working class here for only striving for fame and fortune out of life.   Many people do not care about having a family or purposeful life.  At the end of the poem, the author presents irony.  The speaker says that he possesses spiritual truth.  However, in the stanza before this statement, the speaker talks about fame and money.  The author establishes that through the desires of the middle class, spiritual truth is actually absent from their lives.  

High on Life

"Inebriate of Air - am I -
And Debauchee of Dew..."
("I taste a liquor never brewed" - Emily Dickinson)

Diction, or word choice, is a major part of this poem.  The speaker describes him or herself as tasting "a liquor that was never brewed" and "inebriate of Air."  (Inebriate means to be drunk).  However, the speak is not drunk on alcohol or liquor; instead, the speaker is drunk on the simple things of life.  In the excerpt above, the speaker is made drunk by something as simple as air.  Even the dew makes this person drunk. 

I think my interpretation is a little far-fetched, but when I first read this, I thought that the poem was describing clouds moving carelessly through the sky.  Air and dew both fill a cloud, and clouds "reel through endless summer days."  I interpreted the "inns of Molten Blue" to be the blue sky.  Also, in the final stanza, it says the drunkard was "leaning against the sun." 

The image of the bee confuses me.  When the bees crawl out of the flower, they are drunk as well.  However, what is the speaker trying to prove?  Maybe that he or she is more drunk on life then even the bees who are constantly drinking nectar. 

In the last stanza, the Seraphs and Saints run to watch the drunkards.  I think the message of this poem is that if you are happy with life, God will allow you to go to heaven.  Even saints will admire those who enjoy life.

The Zoo?

"...It seems to him there are
a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world."
("The Panther" - Rainer Maria Rilke)

The poem of the panther really caused a lot of controversy in my small group today.  When I first read through the poem, I honestly just thought it was pretty straight forward... just your regular old panther trapped inside a cage at the zoo.  However, from the circus to people who can not reach their potential, a wide variety of responses were mentioned. 

This poem relies heavily on hyperbole and dramatic imagery.  In the excerpt above, it states that behind the bars of the cage, there was "no world."  Now obviously, if the cage exists on Earth, the world exists beyond the zoo.  However, this exaggeration adds effect of confinement to the poem.  The panther feels trapped and has never seen the outside world; therefore, to him, there is no escaping the prison life he must lead. 

Another literary device used in the poem is irony.  I thought it was a little ironic that Rilke placed an image of a "ritual dance" in the poem.  Maybe this is a little far-fetched, but this reminded me of tribes of Indians.  I think Indians are being compared to animals trapped in captivity.  Just as animals live in captivity, Indian tribes were placed in Reservations as if they were animals.  This cruel act is still criticized today. 

Trapped!

"A Service, like a Drum -

Kept beating - beating - till I thought

My Mind was going numb."

("I felt a Funeral, in my Brain" - Emily Dickinson)

After a major discussion with my small group today, I think I finally have an understanding of this poem.  However, before I even knew what the poem was about, I still knew that imagery played a major part in this Dickinson poem.  Most of the the imagery appeals to the sense of hearing.  For example, "creak," "drum," and "beating" all refer to sounds.  Also, the author specifically leaves out the sense of sight.  The inner workings of the body are also described through the imagery.  In the excerpt above, the heart is compared to a drum that is constantly beating. 

Even from the title, a reader can see that the image of a funeral is involved with this poem.  The opening stanzas even describe the speaker as if he or she is inside the casket.  I think this poem's aim is to describe the process of going insane.  Even throughout the poem, Dickinson hints at the process of insanity through phrases such as "my Mind was going numb," and "Wrecked, solitary here."  The author's diction produces an image of being trapped and helpless.  This reminded me of an episode of Bones where two of the main characters who investigate criminal cases are buried alive.  Both the character in this poem and the characters in Bones feel the same exact way - hopeless.  However, Dickinson's character is trapped inside his or her own body, whereas Bones and Hodgins are physically trapped underground.

"Bleared and Black and Blind"

"Jewels in joy designed
To ravish the sensuous mind
Lie lightless, all their sparkles bleared and black and blind."
("The Convergence of Twain" - Thomas Hardy)

This poem has a tone of an ominous situation composed through contrasting imagery.  In the excerpt above, "jewels of joy" are described as lying lightless "bleared and black and blind."  Usually, jewels represent happiness and riches; however, in this situation, the riches actually led to the downfall of the characters.  Many people in this predicament would have never boarded the Titanic if money did not play a huge role in their life.  Another contrasting image is the opulent mirrors and the sea-worm, both mentioned in the same stanza.  Mirrors remind the reader of the passengers aboard the ship who are carefree about their journey.  However, the "grotesque, slimed" sea-worm shows the reader that although the Titanic may appear lavish on the surface, there are many things that the passengers do not know.  I think the sea-worm also represents the passengers in a way.  Both the passengers and the worm are oblivious to the outside world.  These two images come together and form a dark tone of danger.  Also, details such as the Iceberg growing in the "shadowy silent distance," the "welding" of the iceberg and ship after the collision, and the "cold currents" drifting through the sea further work to achieve this tone.  

This poem really contrasts with the movie Titanic.  No detail or description even remotely relates to a love story or even a positive outcome.  Hardy tells the story of the accident with no sympathy or care for any of the passengers.  In most historical accounts, the iceberg is portrayed as the "villan" while the Titanic is the innocent, naive bystander.  However, Hardy blames both sides.

Death is at your doorstep...

"Today my son told me 

that in the meadows, 

at the edge of the heavy woods..."

("The Widow's Lament in Springtime" - William Carlos Williams)

Symbols are extremely important to this poem about death and misery.  In the excerpt above, "meadows" is mentioned as a symbol of moving in a new direction.  This location is also related to another symbol in the story, the "yard."  The meadow and yard both represent life when the woman was happy and her husband was alive.  However, that joyous "fire" now ends with the loss of her husband.  No longer can she enjoy the spring with all the colors and flowers that it brings.  The "woods" in the excerpt represent the woman's despair.  The two locations of the "woods" and "marsh" hint at dark and depressing places.  This easily observed because the woods are described as being heavy which seems to be an odd adjective choice.  However, heavy literally means "something of great weight, difficult to life or move."  Sorrow is something that is difficult to shake in a person's life; memories of a person will last forever.  The marsh is obviously negative because the woman hints that she would kill herself before even attempting to find hope.  It is interesting how the meadows are at the edge of the dark woods, almost as if life is the meadows and the woods represent death.  

Innocence and Poison

"A strain of the earth's sweet being in the beginning

    In Eden garden - Have get, before it cloy..."  

+"Spring" Gerard Manley Hopkins

This poem begins with the innocence of spring with references to "thrush," or songbirds, and "lambs."  Each animal adds to the imagery of purity and innocence.  However, carefully placed in these descriptions of spring are words with negative connotations.  For example, "weeds" rise in the spring, and the ear "strikes like lightning" to hear the songbird.  These words suggest sin and greed.  I think the image of the ear striking like lightning means that many times, people selfishly take advantage of things in nature.

The second part of the poem alludes to the Bible.  In the excerpt above, "Eden garden" refers to the story of creation.  I think that spring represents innocence in the lives of all.  However, life's pleasures sometimes make our lives impure.  The word "cloy" means disgust from excessive sweetness.  With excessive pleasures, our lives can become boring and not enjoyable.  Sin only poisons the mind.  Without sin, it would be easy to see the difference between purity and impurity.       

Interpretation 101

"It is, as we would say, too farfetched." Laurence Perrine

"The Nature of Proof in the Interpretation of Poetry" presents difficult concepts for me to wrap my head around.  For one, Perrine's opening argument states that no author should reveal his interpretation of a poem for it "limits its suggestibility."  I understand this part of the article - this is the same with every type of art, for art should speak for itself.  In fact, one of the most hated question during an art show or critic is "what does this mean?" Imagination and creativity should speak for the observer.  However, later in the article, Perrine clearly argues that only ONE interpretation can be correct.  If this is true, wouldn't the reader need to rely on the author's interpretation?  I think an author would be much less reluctant to explain his or her work if this was the case.  But instead, the author allows room for interpretation to leave room for the reader or observer to grow.  I disagree with the author - no opinion is too farfetched.  Without these odd and wacky interpretations, how would a reader be allowed to grow? 

This article really revealed how non-observant I really am.  First of all, I need to connect details.  In Melville's poem, I never really thought about the idea of a constellation in the night.  Sometimes, it is necessary to look past the literal meaning of the words (such as "legions" and "chief") and find the bigger picture.  Poems are like puzzles - tiny pieces fit together to make a whole.  Also, instead of reading a poem like a novel, I should observe it as if it is art.  In my personal opinion, a painting is much more exciting to study then a bunch of words put together on a page.  However, poems are more like a painting than a novel.  All the minute details and descriptive language come together to form one image.  For example, Emily Dickinson uses words that would normally relate to a garden to describe a sunset.  Again, literal meaning is not always the correct answer (if there even is a correct answer in the art of interpretation...)