D.W.-40


Both my grandpas had bright blue eyes

and heavy brass pocket watches that warm palms enliven

that make warm palms smell like gunhandle nickel-plate


one was scottish and one a displaced apache

and you know what they say about indians with blue eyes

a zest for being possessed and keeping time have always been my forte


I am 60/40 parts Conrad and D.W.

I've been trying to figure out what this one means (to me at least) for a while now. I find the parallel between the european and the apache interesting. There are three things in this poem that give away discord between the two peoples.

when the "warm palms smell like gunhandle nickel-plate" (ln 3), I see an allusion of war and conquest.

when I see the words "displaced apache" (ln 4) I think of someone divorced from their culture of origin, not by choice, but by force.

"you know what they say about indians with blue eyes" (ln 5) sounds like its being pointed out as a cautionary trait, and there's also an air of gossip in the line. It also implies the trait is new and in the context of this poem, could be a result of a reluctant combination between the two parties, like a visible graffiti by one onto another.

then there's the constant reference to time. The words "heavy" and "brass" (ln 2) don't give way to the idea that time heals, and that time is actually a burden because time is the antidote for revenge and rage, and perhaps that isn't the goal here. The speaker talks about "keeping time" (ln 6) as though it is a hobby. Like keeping a record of all the events that have transpired.

and finally though it's called D.W.-40, I kept thinking W.D.40, a kind of greaser that my family always used to make a sliding door that didn't want to budge slide again. The idea of force was residing in my mind, and the reversal of the first two letters said maybe something is backwards here, though my mind wants it to say one thing, I am reading it as another....


really good one pen!!!!

and I dont' know who conrad is, but I thought about joseph conrad, who wrote heart of darkness...all about inner savagery that's deep within ourselves.

this poem really got me thinking.

F*ck wow...

Mmmk..

There ARE two products..WD 40 AND a DW...and they do the same things..(implying ..smooth ..)

Conrad..displaced Indian..seventh son of a seventh son...blue eyed.. and blue eyed indians were considered possessed by daemons..and seventh sons times two..considered warlocks...he always seemed ..uber magical..

Duane William...Scottish grandpa.. (DW) was a weather man and electrician.. I always thought he stole lightning from the skies..like some kind of perseus...also blue eyed..I am the only grandchild ...from both..and haz their eyes. Implying I want to carry on all their magic.

Keeping time, like musically..(a zest for keeping time..)also..I have..from them both, really my one relic from each..are brass pocket watches. My mom was considering selling them..that's how I found out they even existed these beautiful chunks of metal..I held onto them a long time, until she let me keep them..is why my hands smelled like a pistol handle..sticking to my guns basically..

The 60/40...also implying the DW40..just to carry the title to realization.. but I am more acquainted with the Conrad side of teh family..therefore the 60 %....

This one was entirely cryptic and personal.. BUT JESUS HECK I love what you came up with..

Thank you for taking the time, and I am always surprised to see and oldie at the top...

I wanted to honour them two, thru a piece..as well as thru myself.I was alaso mad that my mother hadn't even considered that I may be interested in the two fobs.

<3333333333333333

quote:

"you know what they say about indians with blue eyes" (ln 5) sounds like its being pointed out as a cautionary trait, and there's also an air of gossip in the line. It also implies the trait is new and in the context of this poem, could be a result of a reluctant combination between the two parties, like a visible graffiti by one onto another.

THAT..LOVE that...cautionary..but ..not letting the magic rear to its full height ALL the time...its my internal secret...the inner fame, that gossip fuels, if you tend it right..

a visible graffiti..Ah YEAH!!

roflmao well there we go! it all comes together now I didn't know how the people were related to you (or all the details of the tie I mean) but it all makes sense now..

and I also was googling things about how blue eyed indians were viewed. I thought they were perceived as possessed but wasn't exactly sure so I didn't put that thought down. but that's super cool that you verified the thought I pushed away, lol

and also now that you gave the names, the Conrad and D.W. and 60/40 all make total sense love it when I have the insider's view from the poet herself

You amaze me..that was pretty awesome theorizing as per usual, I learn every time, tyvm!!

and lastly, (I promise I'll shut up after this) that's what makes you such a good poet. good poetry, to ME at least, has lots of ambiguities that can be argued one way or the other or the third way, etc......

I'm the type of poet that never feels like one at all til someone wonderful reads something and does get something from it..then I feel real, ambiguities they can make their own? oh man.

You spend just as much time over my pieces as I do, and I am humbled...never shut up!

MUAHHHH

quote:

Originally posted by delerium12345:
and I also was googling things about how blue eyed indians were viewed. I thought they were perceived as possessed but wasn't exactly sure so I didn't put that thought down. but that's super cool that you verified the thought I pushed away, lol

Omg you googled, I'm someone now!!!\o/

I missed this post before rofl

\o/!!!!!

yeah, I wish your poems had been on the list to try and analyze during my AP exam my senior year in high school, it would have been fun to write an essay about one of them.

Haaa.. I dunnae care if they're any good or not now..

I am so baking you a CAKE. With a poem in red frosting on top. Woo!

\o/ for me?????

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