Soft by Kay Ryan

In harmony with the rule of irony-
which requires that we harbor the enemy
on this side of the barricade - the shell
of the unborn eagle or pelican, which is made
to give protection till the great beaks can harden,
is the first thing to take up poison.
The mineral case is soft and gibbous
as the moon in a lake - an elastic,
rubbery, nightmare water that won't break.
Elsewhere, also, I see the mockeries of struggle,
a softness over people.

Analysis 

A word to note is gibbous, which is a phase of the moon that is more than half, but not yet full. Or having a hump.

In this poem, Ryan utilizes oxymorons and diction to create a critical, if not somewhat bitter tone through the poem.

The poem opens with an oxymoron, setting the tone for the rest of the poem: "In harmony with the rule of irony" There is no harmony in irony, so this suggests complacency and weakness and because of the "harmony" it also indicates a lack of change. The "we" in the second line most likely represents Americans, or Westerner's because Kay Ryan herself is American. Therefore, "the enemy" can be anything the reader sees as threat to the US. The shell represents the nation as a community. The two parties that we harbor, "the unborn eagle or pelican" represent the good and bad we protect. The irony of a soft "mineral case" is intended to mock the strength of our laws and the enforcement of the laws. Those who we defend are the first to "take up poison" is a direct attack at the flaws of the institution. 

The image of water is distorted in this poem, usually seen as cleansing and healing, Ryan describes it as rubbery,  a "nightmare water that won't break". The water here is symbolic of the court system, that fails to protect the innocent and incarcerate the guilty. The use of oxymorons represents the backward problems addressed in the poem. 

Finally, the speaker says "I see the mockeries of struggle, a softness over people". As long as people fail to correct these problems, we will remain soft, in this case, a negative and a warning. 

Flamingo Watching by Kay Ryan

Wherever the flamingo goes,
she brings a city's worth
of furbelows. She seems
unnatural by nature-
too vivid and peculiar
a structure to be pretty,
and flexible to the point
of oddity. Perched on
those legs, anything she does
seems like an act. Descending
on her egg or draping her head
along her back, she's
too exact and sinuous
to convince an audience
she's serious. The natural elect,
they think, would be less pink,
less able to relax their necks,
less flamboyant in general.
They privatly expect that it's some
poorly jointed bland grey animal
with mitts for hands
whom God protects.

Analysis

The first thing to note, is that the poem is gender specifc to women, and that the flamingo is symbolic of women who are not of the norm. Such as the protesters for women's rights.

Words to know include: furbelow and sinuous. Furbelow meaning showy ornimentation, and sinuous meaning curvatious.

The "she" flamingo represents the 'different' women of the time who are showy by "bringing a city's worth of furbelows". The poet utilizes oxymorons to express the hyporcicy of the speaker, presumably a male figure. Claiming she is "unnatural by nature" and too "flexible to be normal" even though flexibility is natural opposed to rigidness. Flexible in this context of the speaker refers to social change. The speaker demeans her by saying "anything she does seems like an act" implying that women are not taken seriously. In response to her acts in society, the speaker claims "she's too exact and sinuous" to be taken seriously.

In the third stanza, unlike the first two, the poet describes the speaker as "the natural elect" in a sarcastic tone as being men. The poet uses repetition of "less" to draw attention to the speaker's points: "less pink", "less able", "less flamboyant". The poet they tells us that in secret, men think of women as "bland grey animals" with "mitts for hands" signaling where a woman belongs: in the kitchen.

This poem speaks to sexism through the eyes of the perpetrator in the 70's, with the poet being a femenist who demonstrated for woman's rights in the 60' and 70's and wrote the poem as a monument to the times.

The Pieces That Fall To Earth by Kay Ryan

One could
almost wish
they wouldn't;
they are so
far apart,
so random.
One cannot
wait, cannot
abandon waiting.
The three or
four occasions
of their landing
never fade.
Should there
be more, there
will never be
enough to make
a pattern
that can equal
the commanding
way they matter.

Analysis 

The first question one must ask about this poem is, what is they? Without answering the question, the poem will not have any meaning.  'They' refers to "the pieces that fall", and I take that to mean meteors. Another thing to note is that this poem uses repetition frequently; at least once in every stanza, except the third, and often more. 

In the first stanza the word "wish" gives the stanza a regretful tone. By saying "almost wish they wouldn't" it draws attention to the fact that "the pieces that fall" are not bad by emphasising the word "almost".  The poet then tells us that they are "so far apart, so random" the repetition of "so" tells us that a lot of time passes between the falling pieces, and that there is no way to know when it will happen.

The length of the stanzas link them together, the first stanza is six lines long, and the second stanza is half that length with three lines, so the stanzas are connected to each other. The second stanza is a commentary on the first stanza. Once again, repetition is utilized by emphasizing "cannot" and "wait". This stanza is also an oxymoron, "cannot wait" and yet "cannot abandon waiting". Contradiction freezes action, and the poet is in limbo waiting for pieces to fall, and also not wanting to wait.

In the third stanza the poet turns to the subject of the "pieces" themselves. There is no use of repetition in this stanza, which makes it stand out. The poet is very specific, there have been only "three or four" occasions when these pieces have fallen, so we now know these events are rare. Then we learn that "their landing never fade". The diction in the third stanza tells the reader that the event of the falling pieces is a big event for the poet, and that the event leaves lasting marks. This stanza is four lines long and is linked with the fourth stanza which is eight lines long. 

The fourth stanza opens with the words: "should there be more" suggesting that the poet is unsure whether more pieces will fall, or if she will live to see it. The tone in this stanza is very serious and sentimental. Even if more fall and a pattern should develop, it will "never be enough" to "equal" the "way they matter". 

This poem alludes to, but never directly states the subject. On the surface, it is a simple and powerful statement about the beauty and mysteries of meteors. However, because the subject is not stated, the poem could be about any subject the reader projects onto it. For example, the poem could also be about lovers, and how they rarely and randomly fall into our lives, changing us forever. This is what makes the poem so powerful, it transforms into something different for every reader. 

The use of paired repetition, careful diction, and the fluid and choppy syntax manipulates the readers emotions along with the poets very powerfully, and was quite successful at portraying the purpose of the poem.

Felix Crow by Kay Ryan

Crow school

is basic and

short as a rule-

just the rudiments

of quid pro crow

for most students.

Then each lives out

his enlightened

span, adding his

bit of blight

to the collected

history of pushing out

the sweeter species;

briefly swaggering the

swagger of his

aggravating ancestors 

down my street.

And every time

I like him

when we meet.

Analysis 

In the title of the poem, Ryan relates the crow to the felix, so we know the poem puts crows in a good light.  Some key words and phrases in the poem are: rudiments, quid pro crow, blight, sweeter species, and aggravating ancestors. Rudiments are the first principles of a subject. Quid pro crow should actually read as quid pro quo and it means that if you give something, you get something back in return. Blight, is a cause of disease, ruin, or frustration.

I believe that this poem addresses the nature of evolution within the crow family, where the speaker in the poet has a grudging liking for the crow.

The first stanza of the poem directly remarks on evolution by summarizing the process as "basic and short" and being the "rudiments of quid pro crow". Meaning evolution is not a complex process, it is short, and the current species takes qualities from ancestors while passing on their own qualities to the next generation. Coming to the second stanza, the poet adopts a tone of sarcasm and dislike. Speaking to the current species, the poet comments on "his bit of blight" meaning something in him is distasteful and that he has a history of "pushing out the sweeter species". This is somewhat ironic and contradicts Darwinism, suggesting that the poet has a dislike of the 'survival of the fittest' attitude by calling the extinct species the "sweeter" one.  In the second half of the second stanza the tone shifts into a joking and playful one, the phrase "swaggering the swagger" is using repetition to emphasis the annoying behavior of his "aggravating ancestors" down the street, clearly referring to the cawing of the crow. Despite the suggestions during most of the poem that imply that the crow is intolerable and annoying, the poet devotes the last stanza to say "every time" they meet, the poet likes him.  

Kay Ryan Biography and Timeline

Kay Ryan was born on September 21, 1945 in California and grew up in San Joaquin Valley.
After high school Ryan received a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in English from the UCLA.

Growing up, and through her education she drew inspiration for her work from Emily Dickens and Robert Frost.

Time Line of Published Works and Achievements

• 1983: Dragon Acts to Dragon Ends 
• 1985: Strangely Marked Metal 
• *1994: Flamingo Watching
• 1996: Elephant Rocks 
• 2000: Say Uncle
• 2005: The Niagara River
• 2006: Elected Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets
• 2008: Appointed Congressional Poet Laureate consultant in poetry
• 2010: The Best Of It: New and Selected Poems   

* This collection of work was a finalist for the Lamont Poetry Selection, and for the Lenore Marshall Prize.

Ryan's awards for her poetry include: The Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, a Guggenhelm fellowship, the Ingram Merrill Award, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Union League Poetry Prize, the Maurice English Poetry Award, three Pushcart Prizes,  a four time select for The Best American Poetry, and was included in The Best American Poetry from 1988 to 1997.

From 1971 to today, Kay Ryan has lived in Marin County, California with her partner Carol Adair. They both taught at the College of Marin in Kentfield, California. They lived together until Adair's death in 2009. Ryan now lives alone, retired from writing poetry, but still teaching English at local colleges in California.

Literary Devices

Caesura: a grammatical pause or break in a line of poetry (like a question mark), usually near the middle of the line. A caesura is usually dictated by sense or natural speech rhythm rather than by metrics. In poetry scansion, a caesura is usually indicated by the symbol //. 

Cacophony:harsh discordance of sound;

Allusion: a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, a place, event, literary work, myth, or work of art, either directly or by implication

Hysteria by T.S. Eliot

As she laughed I was aware of becoming involved in her
laughter and being part of it, until her teeth were
only accidental stars with a talent for squad-drill. I
was drawn in by short gasps, inhaled at each momentary
recovery, lost finally in the dark caverns of her
throat, bruised by the ripple of unseen muscles. An
elderly waiter with trembling hands was hurriedly
spreading a pink and white checked cloth over the rusty
green iron table, saying: "If the lady and gentleman
wish to take their tea in the garden, if the lady and
gentleman wish to take their tea in the garden ..." I
decided that if the shaking of her breasts could be
stopped, some of the fragments of the afternoon might
be collected, and I concentrated my attention with
careful subtlety to this end.