James Wright's "A Blessing" Is Term Paper

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The second half of the poem is dedicated to the poet's desire to make physical contact with one of the ponies:

would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,

For she has walked over to me

And nuzzled my left hand.

In many ways, the second half of the poem solves the mystery of the first half. Nature has traditionally been associated with the figure of the Mother (i.e. The idea of there being a "Mother Nature" who reigns over the natural world.) Philosophers from Rousseau to Derrida and beyond have traditionally associated the Mother figure with the workings of nature. The poet's desire to make contact with, become one with the pony, belies a desire to be close to his mother once again, ultimately returning to the protected realm of childhood.

The poet's description of his contact with the pony is nearly erotic in its implications:

Her mane falls wild on her forehead,

And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear

That is delicate as the skin over a girl's wrist.

At the same time, the encounter is more sensual than sexual. It leads the poet to a catharsis that is something like a rebirth, in the final lines of the poem:

Suddenly I realize

That if I stepped out of my body I would break

Into blossom.

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The poet's encounter with wild nature fills him with the desire to literally step out of his body, to become one with nature by breaking into blossom, effectively leaving the human world behind in order to become a flower - the most beautiful emblem of nature. The title of the poem, "A Blessing," unites the spiritual world with the natural and human worlds. Thus, within this poem, one finds a sort of trinity between the speaker, the pony, and the universe - a trinity that is meant to emphasize the truly miraculous nature of the event when all three come together in the space of a moment. Of course the poet cannot literally "break into blossom," so instead, he commemorates this moment by putting pen to paper. By applying order to the joyful chaos that leads up to this moment of catharsis, the poet is performing a necessary duty - a duty that allows him to stay linked to both nature and the….....

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