With a banana daiquiri
in my hand,
and a beautiful woman
by my side …
I sit by the pool and enjoy
all of the lovely sights
that this small town …
may have to offer.
The flowers are fragrant,
the air is cool,
and the sun is bright.
Far removed from the desolate cold,
once again,
my life is Sweet.
Ironically, a review of this poem may reaffirm the widely held belief that good poetry frequently encompasses a wide range of human emotion. In addition, it’s frequently thought that a poet’s ecstatic emotion can affect the way they express themselves, the meaning behind their verse, and the reader’s reaction to it.
But in this case, we come across a poem that, in all actuality, could be called quite commonplace. To be kind, we might even contend that the poem’s great ordinariness serves as its defining quality.
Nevertheless, let’s not give up just yet… and toss this poem upon the great literary rubbish heap, … we may decide to take a closer look.
We can start by thinking about the work’s fundamental purpose.
The author’s boundless enthusiasm may be the poem’s most recognisable characteristic.
He appears to be adamant about extending an invitation for us to step into his particular school of human thought. It seems like there are warm breezes and exotic flowers almost everywhere.
He thus extends his cordial invitation by creating a sensual world in which we are urged to not only see, but also… but to smell,
taste, touch and feel.
Perhaps his first tactic was to describe how warm the pool was.
But after that….
he encourages us to imagine a whole host of ideas
that may send our lovely imagination rocketing skyward.
To top it all off,
he introduces the image of a big yellow banana
to stimulate our imagination
and to add a bit of humor and levity to our task.
Critics might contend that this humorous poem shouldn’t be taken seriously. In the end, isn’t it just some silly kiddy stuff?
But hold on before abandoning the ship… and begin to reach the same conclusion, let me ask you,
what is poetry anyway?
Despite all of its obvious flaws, including its extreme simplicity, this poem may endure on the basis of its own genuine merit.
Let me add that any verse that captures the poetry of our daily lives is unquestionably deserving of our careful consideration.
To the naysayers I say,
where for Is your sense of adventure, for God’s sake?
They didn’t always do it better, did they, Ginsberg, Bukowski, O’Hara, and Kerouac?
Everyone should consider the extraordinary activity of sipping cocktails by the pool on a warm winter day…
at least now and then.
But sadly
I guess, …
My peace has been spoken.
But don’t remain motionless!
Think about it.
And better yet,
do something about it!
Peace.