Vermont
Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem
A white wood house defines the slope. The trees
Have gone to red and flame. A field beyond
Is spread with grass and granite rocks at ease.
This stonewall pattern thinks it holds a pond,
But it is free beneath October’s sun,
At least as free as anything can be
In fever such as we all know when, done
With heavy summer, eyes begin to see
The chill of air and glaze themselves with dreams
Restrained. The farmhouse windows have their fire
Inside as well. Twilight is more, it seems,
And maple facts can mesmerize desire.
..A white wood house defines the slope of hill
….Where people keep another autumn, still.
~ Phillip Whidden
First published by the Society of Classical Poets, December 27, 2017
“Vermont” has also been published by Cambridge University Press (2021).
The sonnet is going to be published in a book and in e-form by BJU Press in 2024.
nice, phillip. R
I just now noticed your comment, Becky. Sorry.
Superb!
Thanks for such praise, Sarah.
Stupid me. I only just now saw your comment. I never think to check here for comments. Sorry.
Transported there! Loved it.
I’m very sorry that I only just now saw your comment. I’m glad it took you to Vermont.
Hi
Can you please help me with the analysis of this poem? I am trying to figure out a few lines of the poem but unsure if I am going right.
This stonewall…anything can be [lines 4-6]
The lines are
“This stonewall pattern thinks it holds a pond,
But it is free beneath October’s sun,
At least as free as anything can be”.
I assume you know what stonewalls in New England look like. If not, google “stonewall new england.”
Each wall has a random pattern of stones which it comprises. Of course the wall is supposed to hold a field and patch of ground inside it. The terms “random” and “pattern” are of course paradoxical.
The poem pretends the pond has a human capability (thinking) and can understand the concept of holding, holding water probably. The pond and field are not held by the wall. They are held by the forces of nature. The pond is free to be a pond and to do what ponds do and the field is free to be a field and do what fields do. The poem then questions the notion of freedom by saying “free as anything can be.” After a moment’s thinking, the reader realizes the pond and field are not free. They are bound by the the laws of nature. This implies that nothing is free. Everything is bound by laws. The pond is not free. It is at the mercy of nature’s laws.
I only just now saw your query. Sorry. I almost never check for comments here because almost no one ever sends a comment.
I replied to your message at some length.
?
I sent you a helpful reply.
What a nice poem
Are you ready for this? The editor at Cambridge University Press who bought it to be published in Cambridge didn’t understand it. He didn’t understand the negative undertow. I had to explain it to him. Still…he printed it. He paid a lot of money for it. So I think he agreed with you about its quality. I’m sorry that I did not see your comment until now. Please forgive me.