Poetry 180

#39

Snow

David Berman

Walking through a field with my little brother Seth
I pointed to a place where kids had made angels in the snow.
For some reason, I told him that a troop of angels
had been shot and dissolved when they hit the ground.
He asked who had shot them and I said a farmer.


Then we were on the roof of the lake.
The ice looked like a photograph of water.
Why he asked. Why did he shoot them.
I didn't know where I was going with this.
They were on his property, I said.


When it's snowing, the outdoors seem like a room.
Today I traded hellos with my neighbor.
Our voices hung close in the new acoustics.
A room with the walls blasted to shreds and falling.
We returned to our shoveling, working side by side in silence.


But why were they on his property, he asked.

I think this poem is really good and it reminds me of my brother and I. I would always ask my brother about things and he would make up stories. I think this poems main idea or control is conflict can lead to distress. The examples is in the poem it talks about how a troop of angels were shot because they went on the farmer's property. The writer David uses a lot of literary devices. One thing he uses is similes. An example is, "the outdoors seem like a room." Another example is, "The ice looked like a photograph of water." I really like this simile. Instead of saying that he sees his reflection he says the ice looks like a photograph on water. The writer also uses many metaphors. One example is when the boy tells his brother Seth that there was a troop of angels that dissolved into the snow. I think the most powerful lines are:
Today I traded hellos with my neighbor.
Our voices hung close in the new acoustics.
A room with the walls blasted to shreds and falling.
I really like this stanza and part from the poem because in my opinion it explains how getting to know someone or resolving conflict can bring peace but causing conflict or not getting to know someone can lead to harm or distress.