I woould say that none of these were remarkable. Elisabeth Bishop's Letter to N.Y. perhaps struck my fancy more than any of the others. Still, they were all worth reading.
Hall's poem - The Wish is comprised of three, 8 line stanzas. Lines 5 through 8 in similar, shorter length then the previous. The poem constitutes a dialogue between Hall and his wife Jane. A tug and pull of will between life and death that has great humility in it.
Gluck's poem - The Drowned Children is dark and unsettling and yet the easy flowing imagery keeps you reading it even though you feel like you should be ill at easy with the words them self. The poem is stirring - I believe she has achieved a difficult task with this work.
Al Dossari's poem - Death Poem is one from the book Poems from Guantanamo. There is no evidence that the writer had any formal poetry or literary experience prior to detention. Additionally, what is in print is a translation. The voice in the poem is that of a sufferer at the hands of another, in this case the United States. There is not a strong tone of bitterness that one might expect, but rather a hopelessness that sees its end in death. A death it hopes will provide a glimpse of his torment both to his captors and the world.
This past week I read poetry from the following poets:
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