Thursday, January 5, 2012

American Smooth by Rita Dove

We were dancing—it must have
been a foxtrot or a waltz,
something romantic but
requiring restraint,
rise and fall, precise
execution as we moved
into the next song without
stopping, two chests heaving
above a seven-league
stride—such perfect agony,
one learns to smile through,
ecstatic mimicry
being the sine qua non
of American Smooth.
And because I was distracted
by the effort of
keeping my frame
(the leftward lean, head turned
just enough to gaze out
past your ear and always
smiling, smiling),
I didn’t notice
how still you’d become until
we had done it
(for two measures?
four?)—achieved flight,
that swift and serene
magnificence,
before the earth
remembered who we were
and brought us down. 

The rhythm of the poem seems to reflect the dance which she describes so vividly. It is here that Dove's passion for dance is interconnected with her love of poetry, and together they form a peice of work that makes the reader feel as if they are in that moment with Dove. Illustrating the dance, Dove explains the feeling of being lost in the moment, having "achieved flight"(26), before she becomes aware of her surroundings once more and "the earth remembered who we were and brought us down" (29-30). I love that she is able to bring that moment to light.

Devices:
Caesura - "We were dancing—it must have " (1), "stride—such perfect agony,"(10), "four?)—achieved flight," (26)
Enjambment - lines 1, 3, 5-9, 12-14, 15-20, 22-24, 26, 28-30
Rhythm - I can't classify this poem under a specific meter, but the way in which she chooses to use her syllables and arrange her verses creates the effect of a dance-inspired rhythm.

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