R.S,+Gwynn

Melissa Jasso A3

R.S. Gwynn was born is Eden, North Carolina in 1948. He attended Davidson College, a liberal art college, which is also in North Carolina. It was here that Gwynn received his Bachelors degree along with many other prestigious awards. Gwynn while at Davidson College was the recipient of the Vereen Bell award twice for creative writing. Gwynn then attended the University of Arkansas where he got his masters. Apart from being a poet Gwynn has also been an editor and educator. He currently teaches at Lamar University in Beaumont, TX.

**Bod** ** y Bags **

I

Let's hear it for Dwayne Coburn, who was small And mean without a single saving grace Except for stealing—home from second base Or out of teammates' lockers, it was all The same to Dwayne. The Pep Club candy sale, However, proved his downfall. He was held Briefly on various charges, then expelled And given a choice: enlist or go to jail. He finished basic and came home from Bragg For Christmas on his reassignment leave With one prize in his pack he thought unique, Which went off prematurely New Year's Eve. The student body got the folded flag And flew it in his memory for a week. II

Good pulling guards were scarce in high school ball. The ones who had the weight were usually slow As lumber trucks. A scaled-down wild man, though, Like Dennis "Wampus" Peterson, could haul His ass around right end for me to slip Behind his blocks. Played college ball a year— Red-shirted when they yanked his scholarship Because he majored, so he claimed, in Beer. I saw him one last time. He'd added weight Around the neck, used words like "grunt" and "slope," And said he'd swap his Harley and his dope And both balls for a 4-F knee like mine. This happened in the spring of '68. He hanged himself in 1969.

III

Jay Swinney did a great Roy Orbison Impersonation once at Lyn-Rock Park, Lip-synching to "It's Over" in his dark Glasses beside the jukebox. He was one Who'd want no better for an epitaph Than he was good with girls and charmed them by Opening his billfold to a photograph: Big brother. The Marine. Who didn't die. He comes to mind, years from that summer night, In class for no good reason while I talk About Thoreau's remark that one injustice Makes prisoners of us all. The piece of chalk Splinters and flakes in fragments as I write, To settle in the tray, where all the dust is.

R.S. Gwynn’s poem //Body Bags// shares the story of 3 men that in one way were affected by the Vietnam and when I say affected I mean they all in one way died as a result of the war. This poem really stuck out to me because it refers to a time in American history that the American society would really like to forget. Each story in one way reflects an aspect of how the United States failed its troops. I felt that the first story of Dwayne Coburn reflects how the draft system sweeps people up who really have no options or don’t have the means or will power to escape or refuse the draft. The second man was named Denis Peterson who suffered from depression. Out of the three stories Peterson’s stood out to me the most because of how it relates to soldiers that are fighting in today’s wars that come home suffering from depression, drug use, and PTSD. In particular those who suffered from amputations have a higher risk for coming home with a series of mental and addiction problems. As usual Gwynn has a style of making dark situations seem light hearted by using rhyming scheme. The rhyme scheme is visible in, “And said he'd swap his Harley and his dope And both balls for a 4-F knee like mine This happened in the spring of '68.He hanged himself in 1969”. Gwynn’s use of rhyme contradicts the natural response we have towards the story which enhances the delivery of the poem. I choose the combined pictures of the three soldiers one from the Vietnam war and one from the Iraq war because of how it reminds me that war never

**1-800**

Credit c ards out, pencil and notepad handy, The insom niac sinks deeply in his chair, Begging swi ft needles in his glass of brandy To knit once more the raveled sleeve of care, As with control, remotely, in one hand he Summons bright visions from the midnight air:

The six-way drill! The eight-way folding ladder! Knives that pierce coins or thin-slice loaves of bread! Devices that will make one's tummy flatter, Rout car thieves, or purge household taps of lead! All made of stuff no earthly force can shatter! Their lauds ascend Olympus in his head.

And yet how little will h is days be brightened By //Opera Favorites// or, if he feels lewd, Even **THE SWIMSUIT ISSUE**. Briefly heightened, His hopes, ephemeral as stir-fried food, Vanish like screws his six-way drill has tightened, Leaving him just like them—completely screwed.

"Buy houses and apartments with no money! Discover how today! Write this address!" Snapping alert and clicking with his gun, he Draws a bead on the forehead of Success, Whose orchid leis are fresh, whose teeth are sunny, Whose tapes are on the way via UPS.

But anger, with succeeding snifters, passes And soon all softens in an amber hue; As through a pair of UV/blue-block glasses, Doubt fades before the testimony—true Accounts of hair sprouting like jungle grasses! Of lifeless penises lifting anew!

Of bags and wrinkles blotted out! Of dumber Than average kids who, spared the wrath and rod, Have learned to multiply! He fights off slumber The moment that his head begins to nod And resolutely punches the first number Of what may be the area code of God.

//R.S. Gwynn//

When I read this poem I do not think the speaker is criticizing the idea of infomercials but the American culture that allows for people to fall into this perpetual idea that by buying things will fill whatever void they have within themselves. This mentality that by buying perfect objects will somehow make the buyer better for having that thing, it is akin to live through your possessions. The speaker expresses this criticism through a saturated satirical tone. One way this satirical tone is seen is through the use of alternate rhyme scheme. Throughout the entire poem you have the “ABAB CDCD EFEF,” rhyme that makes the condemnation seem played down and light hearted when it is really playing for the opposite affect which as a result intensifies the satire. This alternate rhyme can be seen in the first paragraph when the speaker says, “notepad handy,…deeply in his chair,…his glass of brandy…sleeve of care,…one hand he…midnight air: (lines 1-6).” Another literary device used in the poem that I found to add to the imagery in the poem was the use of allusion to Greek mythology and a particular. “Their Lauds ascend Olympus in his head, (line 12)” even though it may be in only one line I still found the imagery of people praising an items such as a Slap Chop, or a Sham Wow or even the regrettable and creepy rejuvenating face mask so much it rise to the level of Greek gods to be comical. I choose the picture of the woman with the creepy face mask for 2 reason really. The first reason is because I think of it like an unfortunate piece of cultural art. I think that 40 years from now people will look at that picture and question if people were crazy enough to buy something that looked so dumb. The second reason corresponds with those people from 40 years into the future because I know some one personally that bought one, and that is my mother. I to this day question my mother’s sanity for buying that monstrosity. What I love about Gwynn’s poems is that there is always a roller coaster of conflicting emotions. The speaker in the poem casually brings up how infomercials ruin people credit and lives by pressuring them to buy things with money they do not have and then in the next paragraphs cracks an erectile dysfunction joke, and that honesty mixed with comic relief is what makes Gwynn appreciable.

= Audenesque for the Sixth Decade = For Leon Stokesbury 

More effort spent to function Or even to get by Extreme is the unction To which the moments fly. Do sundials seem depressing When the light grows less? Do you lean towards confessing? What will you confess? Superannuated children, See us jump and run Into Time's teeming cauldron <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">To simmer until we're done. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Beauty remains attractive <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">And makes the forehead burn <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">But is not interactive <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Watch it pass, and yearn; <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">And for mere satisfaction, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Neither way nor will <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Quite claims the name of action. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Swallow the bitter pill. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Exeunt, bright Dreams of Glory. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Enter, Youthful Taunt <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">To drive the sad old story <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Stumbling to denouement. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Sic transit gloria mundi. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Say it every day. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Say it twice on Sunday <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">While Sunday slips away. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Time to live by the letter <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">If you want to live, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Which, all things said, is better <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Than the alternative.

It took a while for me to realize that the first word in the title was actually derived from a name and upon research that name was from famous poet W.H. Auden. Auden was known for writing about the most basic of human functions like growing old and dying, which is what is mirrored in this poem. I understood the title of the poem to mean that the mannerisms of growing old and dying are finally starting to sink in around the age of sixty and should be accepted with the grace that is seen in Auden’s poems. The theme that I came away with after reading the title and the poem was that growing old can be scary but one has no control over it and must deal with it. After reading the lines like “Do you feel like confessing? What will you confess? (Lines 8-9)” I felt that the speaker in the poem was almost taunting the reader and yet again I had to look closer and realize that this poem was more of a letter to an older gentleman. After a quick scan of the title I saw that this poem was dedicated to or “for” another poet by the name of Leon Stokesbury who was turning 60 at the time. It was there that it really all clicked in my head, reading and analyzing this poem had become more of a story in itself. I imagine that Gwynn was friends with Stokesbury and the taunting in his poem was friendly reminder that also conveyed natural truths about life. An example of this truthful provocation can be seen in the line “ Beauty remains attractive and makes the forehead burn but it is not interactive watch it pass, and yearn. (Lines 14-17)” This line really struck me because of how true it is regardless of age. People everyday pass someone who they perceive as handsome or beautiful but refuse to act on their feelings because either they fear rejection or ridicule. The diction that Gwynn uses carries the poem a long ways. The way Gwynn uses Latin phrases and words used in plays in order to describe the final stages of life. For example Gwynn says “Exeunt” in line 21 he is referring to death and how it is time for the actors, which in this case is the reader to leave the stage of life. Gwynn uses the Latin phrase //sic transit gloria mundi,// which is roughly translated to “Wordly thing are fleeting” as a reminder to enjoy life while you have it and appreciate what time you do have left. I choose the progressive picture of the young man turning into an older man because of how it reminds me of the first line in the poem that talks about how with old age we become extremely focused on living as long as possible instead of living life to the fullest potential which is what we should all do.

resources: "Bing Forecast Breaking News and Opinion | News | Information | Insight." //Bing Forecast Breaking News and Opinion//. Web. 06 Feb. 2016. "Body Bags" by R.S. Gwynn." //"Body Bags" by R.S. Gwynn//. 05 Feb. 2016. Web. 06 Feb. 2016. <http://www.poemtree.com/poems/BodyBags.htm>. "Iraq & Vietnam: Democrats Lose Won Wars; Holocaust to Follow - Breitbart." //Breitbart News//. 09 Aug. 2014. Web. 06 Feb. 2016. "R. S. Gwynn." // Poetry Foundation // . Poetry Foundation, 05 Feb. 2016. Web. 06 Feb. 2016. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/r-s-gwynn>. "R.S. Gwynn." //- School of Arts and Humanities//. Web. 06 Feb. 2016. ""1-800" by R.S. Gwynn." //"1-800" by R.S. Gwynn//. 05 Feb. 2016. Web. 06 Feb. 2016. <http://www.poemtree.com/poems/1-800.htm>.