He praised the perfection in the ordinary […]
In this simple line of quotation, the narrator (who we can again presume is Braden himself) pays tribute to famed American photographer Walker Evans. Evans was a photojournalist who earned his fame due to his documentation of the Great Depression. In this quotation, the narrator captures the essence of Walker’s motivation in photography. He suggests that Walker intended to capture the beauty in the simplicity of life. This is especially pertinent, given Walker’s work during the Great Depression. Braden pays tribute to Walker’s ability to capture beauty in the most difficult times.
Everything necessary to maintain
every foundation ever built so far
is found simply by fondling the latch,
easy as recalling a less-than-fond past,
and then by handling each orderly tray
of tools too simple to call hand tools [.]
Braden opens his metaphorical poem with heavy artistic flair. He references a need to maintain “every foundation every built.” This foundation is representative of the metaphorical foundations of life. Braden suggests that our foundation—everything we have built our life upon—requires the occasional fix-up, due to the heavy load that it bears. He suggests that, to build this foundation, we must simply “fondle the latch.” This means that, in order for us to fix our own foundations, we must be willing to look into our past—even if that means re-exploring painful memories/experiences. Braden then intimates that we must have a set of tools prepped and available for us to begin maintenance on this foundation. All of these metaphorical references mean to suggest that the foundations of our lives often need repair. To do so, we must be willing to look at our mistakes (our ugly, broken parts) and then use the proper tools to repair them.
You could say a lesson might exist
in the wind's subtle dispersal of dust
trickling through Sheepskull Gap,
estranging that feather from its wing.
Here, the narrator—presumably Allen Braden himself—suggests that, encased in this seemingly simple owl’s feather, is a great many lessons. These lessons likely pertain to writing and creating. The narrator suggests that a great many lessons can be taught from this simple feather. Its use is multi-dimensional. Not only can it be used to train up-and-coming authors, but it could also be used to complete the physical writing if it were turned into a quill. In this quotation, Braden highlights how even the simplest objects in life can be full of possibility and lessons.
One day pours into the next,
but he can still see her.
A dark square nailed to the wall.
A portrait taken down for good.
The narrator describes how the main character, this unnamed man, laments the loss of the woman he loved. The narrator describes how the days bled into one another. In other words, the man has been so consumed by his sorrow that he is no longer able to distinguish days from one another. Here, we as the reader are reminded by how much this woman meant to him. The poem ends with the removal of the woman’s portrait from the wall. This is symbolic of the man finally letting the woman—and his love for her—go. It also indicates that the woman has never returned and never will.
