Elizabeth Bishop
First Death in Nova Scotia

The thing that really stuck out in this poem was the contrast of red to white. Like life blood to frozen corpse, or a Geishas lips compared to her face. The cold makes white very crisp and quiet. The living red eyes of the loon further emphasis this contrast. In death, there's never a thing louder than silence.

The last part of this poem gets pretty emotional. It expressed how it takes time for death to settle in. Elisabeth wrote about Arthur as if he could almost wake up but just didn't want to. When people die I think it's fairly common to think that you’ll see the person again and the only reason they’re missing is temporary. The quality of silence was especially present in the end.

I thought it was interesting how so many of the poems dealt with snow or at least the winter cold and quiet. I would like to read more poems with an overwhelming silence. The kind that feels like a bomb went off by your head; suddenly, you’re ears tunnel in and submerge.