Great Regulars: The last line,

"Driving around, I will waste more time," is reminiscent of James Wright's "I have wasted my life" in his poem, "Lying In A Hammock At William Duffy's Farm In Pine Island, Minnesota." The profound difference is that in Wright's poem, the reader can actually believe that Wright's speaker means it.

In Bly's poem, his speaker's wasting time makes no sense.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Bly's 'Driving to Town Late to Mail a Letter'

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As the bright fire of the sun appears, the darkened blackness first turns blue, before taking on its brightness in the full glow of the sun.

Then suddenly the sun's appearance spreads quickly: the speaker likens it to the spreading of "news" that runs "like Squirrels."

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Dickinson's 'I'll tell you how the Sun rose'

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Although it was great luck that she found the job as seamstress, the downside was that the mother still had to "[take] in piecework" to make ends meet. So all evening and into the night, the industrious mother would continue her needlework at her sewing machine with its "locomotive whir."

The speaker describes the fabrics the mother had to work with, "quicksand taffeta/or velvet deep as a forest."

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Dove's 'My Mother Enters the Work Force'

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He did not voluntarily give up his identity to become a "nobody"; it was taken from him: "A red sinking autumn sun/Took my name away." The symbolism of the "red sinking autumn sun" is, however, so private that the reader can only guess at why the speaker engages it.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Richard Wright's 'Five Haikus'

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Those who fail to grasp the spiritual level of the human personality, especially in the artist, do not "matcheth" or understand the level of truth revealed in the creative works of spiritual artists.

Instead of offering true growth, the superficial viewers negate all art to dirt.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Shakespeare Sonnet 69

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While positive criticism works to publicize even the most egregious art, negative or scandalous false criticism can also help publicize the even the best art. The speaker has confidence that his art is genuine and that true art lovers will be able to recognize its worth.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Shakespeare Sonnet 70

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While in the introductory couplet, the moon is walking slowly and silently in her silver slippers, the second couplet finds her looking at the fruit trees, perhaps apple or peach trees, and observing that they appear to be silver—both the fruit and the trees.

The metaphor of the moon wearing silver slippers creates a far-reaching expansion in this night scene.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Walter de la Mare's 'Silver'

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In the first stanza of Paramahansa Yogananda's "Thou in Me" from Songs of the Soul, the speaker recognizes that his own smiles are essentially the smile of the Divine. Thus also does the Divine "weep" when the individual cries.

from Linda Sue Grimes: Suite101.com: Yogananda's 'Thou in Me'

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