🚀 go-pugleaf

On 2022-08-10 7:57 p.m., Michael Pendragon wrote:

> On Wednesday, August 10, 2022 at 7:00:08 PM UTC-4, Zod wrote:
>>>> On Saturday, July 30, 2022 at 7:05:04 PM UTC, George Dance wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Today's poem on Penny's Poetry Blog:
>>>>>>>>> A July Day, by Eben E. Rexford
>>>>>>>>> [...]
>>>>>>>>> A glory wraps the hills, and seems
>>>>>>>>> To weave an atmosphere of dreams
>>>>>>>>> [...]
>>>>>>>>> https://gdancesbetty.blogspot.com/2022/07/a-july-day-eben-e-rexford.html
>>>>>>>>>
>> I found this poem to be quite cogent...
>
> FYI:
>
> Cogent
> adjective
> 1a : appealing forcibly to the mind or reason : convincing cogent evidence
> b : pertinent, relevant a cogent analysis
> 2 : having power to compel or constrain cogent forces
>
> If these definitions (courtesy of Merriam-Webster) don't sound like they're describing poems, it's because the word "cogent" doesn't apply to poetry.
>
> A criminal lawyer's argument can be cogent; a textbook can be cogent; a scientific paper can be cogent; a newspaper article can be cogent; a philosophical argument can be cogent; a political speech can be cogent... but a poem neither can, nor should, be.
>
> One does not use poetry to present and analysis or argument.  A poem captures an emotion, a mood, a tone.  Nor does poetry seek to appeal to reason.  Poetry employs symbolism and metaphors which are often difficult to understand and/or open to multiple interpretations.  There are often numerous layers (and meanings) to an individual poem.
>
> To call a poem "cogent" is to compare it to "The Federalist Papers" or "Origin of Species."
>
> There are only a handful of poems where "cogent" would be even remotely applicable: Lucretius' "On the Nature of Things," for example (although it includes the use of metaphor); but "A July Day," a whimsical idyll, is not one of them.
>
> Rexford's poem is easy to follow, and clearly expressed -- but that doesn't make it cogent.  There is no argument or analysis being set forth in "A July Day."  It's a poem, not a term paper, and you do it an unintentional disservice by describing in terms generally reserved for the latter.
>

I have to disagree. I definitely see a depth of emotion (something you
saw a lack of in your review) being communicated, and a thought being
argued for.

The emotion being summoned up is serenity (pure happiness in the
moment), and the correlative thought (because emotion leads to thought)
is "Life is good."

The poet argues for that by presenting all those different things that
are wonderful to experience on a summer day. It's long, and without any
drama or excitement -- but as you noted, that's meant to capture the
peacefulness of this lazy summer day. Laziness is peacefulness or
serenity (as in the song "Up a Lazy River"). Yes, it's dull, but it's
meant to be dull or non-dramatic -- drama reflects tension and the
interplay of positives and negatives. Not to dismiss it -- conflict is a
necessary part of life -- but so are these moments of undiluted bliss.

"Life is good" is a simple thought, but it's a necessary one to have;
everyone has moments when they consider ending their own life, and it's
good to have experiences like this to balance them off against -- to
remember that killing oneself means losing not only the possibility of
having more experiences like that, but even the possibility of
remembering the past ones.