When it comes to Ada Limon, she has multiple different poetry styles. I picked two poems from her books Bright Dead Things and The Hurting Kind that are different ends of her styles to juxtapose. By doing this, you can see the capabilities of Limon, as well as the development of her styles, since these two books were written years apart.

The first poem from Bright Dead Things, “Down Here” is a very form driven poem. It is torn into five tercets and the final stanza is a quatrain. This poem is also heavily end-stopped, with almost every line ending in punctuation. It doesn’t egg the reader on as much as the second poem, since every line is “final.” The lines are also very short, as opposed to the second poem. That makes the syntax extremely important for this poem. There are parts that are italicized in this poem to show the sayings that Limon has heard like “I hate it for you.” Using these italicized lines shows both importance, whilst also showing that these aren’t Limon’s own words. Limon continues with interpreting these lines in the poem, so italicizing is important. When it comes to language, to go with syntax, Limon focuses more on language than imagery in this poem. Limon does use some imagery with the dog peeing to engage with the reader and push forward the continuation of the phrase “I hate it for you, Too bad for you.” Adding this little bit of imagery for the reader helps with understanding the phrase at hand, and the context of its use. Limon also adds the imagery of the “shouting before… now it’s done so shushing-ly,” to show the different environment.

The poem “Drowning Creek” from The Hurting Kind is a poem is written entirely in one stanza, making it look like a stream of consciousness. Almost like the speaker is telling a story to the intended audience. The lines are a lot longer, less end-stopped and more enjambed. A lot of these enjambed lines end abruptly, with obvious intentions. “I am certain” is a great example of Limon using enjambment to have a deeper intention. Limon also uses specific names/locations in this piece, so you can feel like you’re traveling with Limon. Almost, going on this journey with her. It can make you think of road trips you went on, especially with the lines “Past the strip malls and power plants” to show the idea of getting away from normalcy and humanity. In this poem, there is also a lot of repetition of lines, or similarity of lines. One example of this is “The bird doesn’t call” showing this idea of disconnection, in a sense. How the bird has a “simpler” life than the speaker. There is also a lot of imagery in this poem, as opposed to “Down Here” to give the reader a sense of location, as well as see what the speaker saw. The specificity with the lines “… crested in its Aegean blue plumage” really paints a picture and adds depth. This poem adds more imagery to really take you on that journey so you see what the speaker sees.

In both of these poems, there is almost this sense of yearning, both having similar tones in my eyes. In “Down Here” it seems there is both a yearning for community, as well as a yearning for the past. Especially with the third stanza with the “shushing-ly.” It shows the speaker missing their old community, whilst also craving and adoring the new one they are in. While in “Drowning Creek” the yearning is more towards wanting to be something else, and longing for an almost “simpler” life. Especially with the final lines “There is a solitude in this world I cannot pierce. I would die for it,” showing this disconnect from their current life.

Word Count: 641

Bibliography

bernardbodo. “An adorable dog at home waiting for his owner.” 20 October 2019. iStock. Photo. <https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/ready-for-some-walk-gm1181493703-331400101?searchscope=image%2Cfilm&gt;.

Kushner, Brian. “Belted Kingfisher.” n.d. Audubon. Photo. <https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/belted-kingfisher&gt;.

Limon, Ada. “Down Here.” Bright Dead Things. Milkweed Editions, 2015. 11. Book.

Limon, Ada. “Drowning Creek.” The Hurting Kind. Milkweed Editions, 2022. 4. Book.