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Day 26 Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition is the arrangement of two
or more ideas, characters, actions, settings, phrases, or words
side-by-side or in similar narrative moments for the purpose
of comparison, contrast, rhetorical effect, suspense, or character
development. (Notes from Dr. K. Wheeler's website.)
Peter Meinke's “Advice to My Son” is, as the title suggests, a poem on how to live one's life,
from the perspective of one who is older and more experienced.
In a fashion both witty and wise, the parent advises the son,
and by extension the reader, on the dangers and delights life
holds in store. In only twenty-three lines, Meinke conveys a
powerful sense of the multiple and often opposing aspects of
life:
- the practical and the idealistic,
- the physical and the spiritual,
- the temporal and the long-term,
- the sensual and the intellectual,
- the secular and the spiritual.
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Advice to My Son by Peter Meinke
The trick is, to live your days
as if each one may be your last
(for they go fast, and young men lose their lives
in strange and unimaginable ways)
but at the same time, plan long range
(for they go slow: if you survive
the shattered windshield and the bursting shell
you will arrive
at our approximation here below
of heaven or hell).
To be specific, between the peony and the rose
plant squash and spinach, turnips and tomatoes;
beauty is nectar
and nectar, in a desert, saves--
but the stomach craves stronger sustenance
than the honied vine.
Therefore, marry a pretty girl
after seeing her mother;
speak truth to one man,
work with another;
and always serve bread with your wine.
But, son,
always serve wine. |
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Your Turn: Your turn to write your own advice poem, whether
to your future child, yourself, a younger you, or the world in
general. Be specific. Do not simply say, “Be nice.” Give specific examples of what you see as nice and make your
readers infer the general from those specifics. |
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Listen to a reading of this
poem. |