09 February 2014
A Blessing
The poem “A Blessing,” by James Wright is illustrating the fascination that he and his friend have for two Indian ponies. This poem shares a story that lets us know how grateful we should be of the little things. It starts by giving the setting of the poem of them driving on the highway in Rochester, Minnesota. James Wright uses poetic techniques that give hints to the overall message. The author mainly focuses a pictorial image of the setting and the relationship between animals and humans. It is written in free verse with most complete phrases complete to line length.
After following the setting, in line 2 “Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass” is telling the reader that it is night time. They have stopped to see the horses and the horses are responding to them “They have come gladly out of the willows/ To welcome my friend and me.” (5-6). They seem to have such a tremendous fascination that they have jumped over to get closer to the ponies shown in line 7 “We step over the barbed wire into the pasture.” All seems beautiful and loving until in line 8 when it starts giving a sense of abandonment “Where they have been grazing all day, alone.” The abandonment continues with lines 9 and 10 where it illustrates that the ponies were happy to see them as if they have not had any humans around.
The simile given in line 12 is referring the ponies to swans showing that they are showing grace and elegance as they “bow shyly.” The author has a true love for one of the ponies as he is describing the mane with such cuteness “Her mane falls wild on her forehead” (19). The poem begins to sound as if the author was comparing the pony to a woman “And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear/ That is delicate as the skin over a girls