Although I am sure that the poem “Blackberries for Amelia”, written by Richard Wilbur, could be considered a very good poem…. I can’t help but feel that it is TERRIBLE.
The line “thickets everywhere have come alive” absolutely makes me want to hurl. Have come alive? WOW. that sounds like a line that a third grade child would write. That is like saying, “in the spring everything comes to life“. or “too bad you couldn’t make that poem come to life, because it was so unoriginal that it made me want to take my life.” 
As far as originality goes, this poem is a complete failure.
Luckily for the author, originality does not exactly make up a poem. I am guilty of pretending to hate this poem, because setting that one line aside, these words are in a beautiful composition. I think that what makes this poem successful is the use of words. Everything flows SO nicely together and I would love to figure out exactly why. As far as I can tell, what makes this poem really work is the rhyming…. HOnestly i don’t understand enough about poetry to say that he used a certain type of word that was soft and not harsh… perhaps the combination of smooth words and harsh words.. sort of how a lot of contrast is what makes a painting look great.
I think that the strong point in this poem is in the composition of the second stanza
“As the far stars, of which we are now told
That ever faster do they bolt away,
And that a night may come in which, some say,
We shall have only blackness to behold. “
I feel that this stanza is saying that someday the world will end, because it speaks of the stars and how someday they won’t shine and we will only have darkness… it is a sobering thought, and perhaps that is why the next few lines really make this poem feel complete, because they highlight the beauty of life, such as the beauty of talking to a grandchild ( which could represent life going on) and doing something so simple and human such as picking blue berries.
I dont know for sure, but it is almost like what makes this poem work is the contrast of life with death (maybe im completely off with that) coinciding with the contrast of harsh and.. pleasant sounding words.
okay any opinions? PLEASE =] thank youuuuuu
I loved reading your comments, Jessica! You made some keen observations about the poet’s style and ideas…things I hadn’t thought of. Awesome!
FC
Comment by jem2323 — September 5, 2008 @ 4:38 pm
haha nice….this is so unoriginal it makes me want to take my life?? haha
Comment by Chris — September 12, 2008 @ 4:10 am
i love reading this, itgives some ideas of how to write my poetry responses.
Comment by Kadi — September 23, 2009 @ 12:46 am