"The Sacramento," Jeff Knorr
Author: Jeff Knorr
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It’s interesting that the poem is about the river, yet the video focuses on an art installation next to the river. There’s so much happening in the art piece that it could be the subject of its own poem. Here I think I’d like to see a photo or video of the actual river, to compare to the picture in my mind’s eye created by the poem.
The river is pressing itself into banks drifting against light and stones.
The wind is flittering just a little brushing grasses and shifting against
the oaks and cottonwood trees.
A few swallows dive sharply for insects and a heron
hides in the reeds while the red tailed hawk circles above on a distant cyclone of air.
They search the tall grass for the secrets that hold us together.
Cyclists hum along the hot asphalt of the bike trail then out past parks
where families picnic, where children learn the mysteries of minnows and of mud.
The salmon and stripers nose up the current, fi nd the slow eddies to hold them tonight.
Geese head in from the rice fields honking; the moon begins to climb the pathways of night
only the air knows.
It lights the surface of this ribbon of river.
Let us come, let us be guided by the wandering of the water.
Let us look in and see our reflections, hold them.
Let this water make us do right.
I like how Knorr describes the actions of the different creatures in and around the river – from birds, to fish, to children.
He uses personification to make it seem like the river is in control of its actions and imagery in line 2 to give the reader an idea of what the environment is like. “The river is pressing itself.” “little brushing grasses and shifting against.”
In his poem, he describes specific things that he sees, like the type of bird (swallows) and what he sees them doing (diving sharply)
An example of this is when Knorr says “The wind is flittering just a little brushing grasses and shifting against the oaks and cotton wood trees.”
This line may also be a connote because the line itself can mean a lot more then it actually seems because when it comes to secret messages it would usually always be a sort message. I say this because this line feels like it has some sort of meaning like the comparison between finding secrets in tall grass which means finding a secret is hard because when you lose a item in tall grass it almost impossible to find unless you have a sharp eye or the item itself is easily visible.
The sound"mmm" SOUNDS indistinct and undefined… and muddy.
I noticed that he also uses metaphors in his poem, talking about fishes wishing for them to be held tonight. So it seems to be he has also made comparisons or references.
one because when the light from the moon reflects on a river it looks really pretty and two because the environment itself seems really nice and chill.
When the Knorr mentioned holding the reflection of whoever the water is reflecting does he mean for the person to look deeper within or comfort themself? Or is there a whole other meaning to holding your reflection.
He seems to be more serious at this last sentence, almost like this whole poem had a purpose, and that there was a specific intention of writing this poem, like there was a meaning, and this last line sort of gave off that impression.
Overall this poem gives me as the reader a feeling of calmness. This is because of the atmosphere that the author chose in order to evoke feelings within the reader.
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The video it was nice and detailed
By having water as the theme to this poem and ending in “Let this water make us do right.” I am reminded how water is a finite resource, especially in California. The cyclists along asphalt was almost assaulting within a poem otherwise about nature.
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