I read through all the poems and found “Field of Skulls” most interesting, or I should say the one that I could understand the best. Many of the poems did not grab my attention because they were hard for me to understand. But when I read “Field of Skulls” for the second time I could start to imagine what the author was trying to create as I was reading it. So I slowed down and really tried to digest it word for word. I love how it starts out creating an image of a the room, the person, the television and the darkness “Stare hard enough at the fabric of night, and if you're predisposed to dark—let’s say the window you’ve picked is a black postage stamp you spend hours at,” (lines 1-4) I like how this author describes the night as a piece of black fabric that covers the window, as if its so dark that all you can see is the color black. I like how in paragraph two Mary Karr lets your imagination at first start forming objects that you think you would see in the darkness but then quickly redirects you into what she wants you to see. “For you: a field of skulls, angled jaws and eye-sockets, a zillion scooped-out crania.” (lines 10-11) In paragraph four she almost uses it as support saying that there are evil people out in the world among us. Making the reader believe that maybe there really is a field of skulls out amongst the darkness “You know such fields exist, for criminals roam your very block, and even history lists monsters like Adolf and Uncle Joe” (lines 13-15) She even goes as far as to say that even “that disgruntled mail clerk from your job ” (line 18) could be one of those evil people. She goes into more detail that maybe he is the the guy who has bullet with your name on it, making it seem that he is not just a crazy mail clerk but a murderer. In Paragraph five she brings you back to the idea that your square little room sitting on the sofa is a safe zone and a feeling of comfort. “You caress the thought,for it proves there’s no better spot for you than here, your square-yard of chintz sofa, hearing the bad news piped steady from your head.” (lines 20-23) In the last paragraph she explains that we can only see when there is light and the fact that we cant see without it, we are blinded. Giving me the impression that there is no hope of survival when in complete darkness, especially as the skulls stare in at you.
Hey Joe, I'm glad you chose this poem to write about. When I first read it, I was completely at a loss for words. I did not understand a single part of the poem, but then, I did not go back to re-read it, like I should have. Your explanation made me want to go back and re-read it, to see where I overlooked a lot of the details. Your description of the poem was easy to follow and made complete sense to me! I also agree with your conclusion of the poem. That we cannot see without the light, no way to survive in the darkness of the "skulls" (or evil, bad things) in the world that are always with us.
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