迷失. This "word / in a foreign language" (Atwood, 19-20) means lost, which is how, I believe, the speaker in Margaret Atwood's "Disembarking at Quebec" felt. I like this poem very much. Although I would be exaggerating my own experience if I say that I felt the same when I "disembarked" at Victoria, the sense of loneliness and not fitting in that Atwood so precisely describes have definitely came across me. I am also quite fond of the way Atwood arranges the poem's structure. For example, creating spaces for the line "this space cannot hear" stresses the feeling of isolation. Likewise, aligning the word "Freedom!" in the middle of a new paragraph of its own also adds to its emphasis.
Stevie Smith
As a city dweller, I have no problem acknowledging that nature is not so "pretty" all the time - I'm not exactly a huge fan of mushy earth, decaying leaves, or basically any kind of insects. But for some so-called nature lovers, Smith's sarcastic poem "Pretty" may be a heads up for the fact that there are times of inevitable cruelty in nature. We cannot turn a blind eye on things that would destroy our version of nature where there is no hunting, killing, and dying. If we allow ourselves to avoid accepting the whole of nature, soon we will not even recognize our indifference.
Edward Kamau Brathwaite
Ah, the sea, we meet again. Brathwaite discusses the disparity between White people and Black people. There are a number of good use of colour words in the poem. For instance, the "blue stares" represents how the rich look down on the poor. Brathwaite also captures the visual beauty of the coin as it falls through the water - "now black/ now bright, now black, now bright" (Brathwaite, 14-15). This can also be interpreted as the integration of the Black people's struggle of poverty and the White's "bright" and prosperous life.
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