Good Afternoon everyone,

I decided to volunteer as tribute to be the last person to have their piece looked at for tomorrow. Ill post on here what I have come up with so far. Enjoy the rest of your weekends! -Kayleigh

Title- Poem- The Lull

                        Fourteen stanzas is enough to express the Universalism, and the connection of all living things when it comes to death within the poem “The Lull” written by Molly Peacock. The poem, on the surface, is simply about the tragic death of a possum, but once the first layer of the poem is peeled away you can find that there is much more to such a common occurrence that is a dead animal on the side of the road. The poem explains “what we are” through the endless us of paradox, tension, imagery, metaphor, line breaks, end-stops and the motifs of life and death.

                        The poem begins with the image of a possum being found dead on train tracks. The first line is end stopped which leads to the metaphorical interpretation of the death of the possum. The line ends very much like the life of the possum. The narrator admits to stopping to look at the gruesome scene, but it can be very well construed as curiosity rather than a morbid hobby. The possum’s body is described as “big and white with flies on its head” (3). The flies are symbolic towards the death of the possum and suggest that the body has been there for a while. Flies usually tend to gather around a body that has been decomposing for quite some time.  

                        The fourth line of thee poem is a paradox between a dead possum to its “thick healthy hairless tail” (4). Even in death the possum still has “strong, hooked nails” (4-5). This is interesting compared through simile to a raccoon foot. Although the poem is about the possum the mention of another rodent is compelling. Raccoons are other rodents that are usually found dead on the side of the road, therefore, although they are not the same animal they share morbid similarities.

                        At the end of the fifth line there is a line break to keep up with the rhyme scheme. This is a traditional fourteen line sonnet with a rhyming at the end of each line. The rhyme scheme is as follows: ABABCDCDEFEFGG. This is a typical rhyme scheme for a traditional sonnet. This goes back to the rhyme scheme that even Shakespeare himself used. Although this is not a traditional sonnet, it still very much is.

                        The possum was at the height of his life because it was “sturdy and adult” (6). This could prelude to the possum being killed at the prime of his health, life, and being. The central cause of death to the possum was a smashing of its head. This is a truly violent death which could be metaphorical to the possum occasionally being a violent creature. In the common moment that the viewer took to look at the dead body one would normally insult the condition that the corpse was left in. The viewer of the incident is quick to take in the condition of the corpse. It head was “its head was smashed” (7) also to be aware of the flies is a determination that the body has been lying on the tracks for quite some time now. The viewer could also view the world as a morbid place where even the most violent of deaths can come to the smallest of creatures.

                        The paradox between the bloody body of the corpse to the dress shoes being worn by the viewer are an example of how life and death can so easily coexist with one another. It can also be paradoxical to choosing to live in the wilderness and the dangers of being in the wild and possible death to that of choosing a life of a warm home and clothes to protect you. This is also a general paradox between the wilderness and a civil society.

                        A short dialogue “That’s disgusting” (11) which the narrator suggests would be the response of the reader. This is seen by directly saying to the reader “you said that” (11). This paradoxes the narrator from the reader by giving them different points of view. The curiosity of the narrator versus the judgment of the reader.

                        We are made up of dreams which can be construed as what we desire to have, brains which is what we already possess and having the power to turn our dreams into reality, fur which is the protective layer around ourselves to keep up safe from outside forces even the possum’s fur was intact when it was killed. The fur survives, but not the brains or the dreams. The guts represent what lies deep within us. The judgments and curiosities can usually be brought out through dreams. Dreams, brains, fur, and guts are an unavoidable cyclical cycle. Guts could also signify death and put an end to the cycle, but in turn this is what we are all made up of.

                        “That’s my bargain the Pax Peacock” (12-13) this is the author offering up what the human race is worth universally, however, they are doing so through the narrator. This is narrator’s point of view of the death of the possum and its repercussions. “Life’s soft” (13) at any moment life can end abruptly and by looking around at what surrounds you can change you from being judgmental to curious. The hidden and inaccessible point of life is flesh. Everyone and most animals of made of flesh which makes all creatures similar and made up of the same thing materialistically.