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Brine
A paradox: we usually think of brine, which is salt water, as harsh
or corrosive, not "kind." But brine is also a pickling agent, and hence
preservative too. For reason, the brine is kind. This tension between
what corrosion and preservation participates in the poems interest in
what is ruined and what endures. The phrase is also initiates the poem's
water (opens in new window
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Greece and Rome
Referring to the Greek and Roman empires. Both empires have become symbols
of power, artistic accomplishment and longevity.
Patinated
Patinated means developing a patina. A patina is the green film that
copper and copper alloys (such as bronze) develop with age. The word
has ambiguous connations. It is asscoiated with decay or corrosion,
but having a patina can also connote an enrichment by age. See the chain
of associations around what is ruined
(opens in new window - close window to return to this page) and what
endures.
Giotto Blue
Another of the colors of the poem. The underside of the crab shell is
not just blue, but "Giotto blue." Doty again associates the crab with
works of art. It is also significant hat Giotto, famous for his blues,
is considered one of the first Renaissance painters. The crab has died,
but with an unexpected beauty that not only recalls the work of art
(and becomes the occasion for Doty's poem), but also the work of art
that lives on and is even associated with Renaissance--rebirth. In the
ruin of the crab shell, the artwork lives.
To Die
This phrase brings together the poems entire concern with death and
loss. However, it also makes the only rhyme in the poem, with "sky,"
in the next stanza. What concludes "to die" is "sky," the hopeful heavens,
particularly understood as "firmament." A poem that, in its concern
with death and loss, avoids the harmonies of rhyme, notably ends on
a simple, harmonioius, even cheerfully singsong rhyme: to die/sky. This
is a wonderful example of the poet's use of sound.
Sky
Rhymes with die--a wonderful use of sound. The poet's shift from "firmament"
to "sky" is also interesting. Sky is more naturalistic in its connotations
than "firmament." The poet uses religious language, but the sense of
redemption from death in the poem remains rooted in the natural world.
The final color of the poem is not a failed green, but a more redemptive
blue sky.
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