Eyes Fastened With Pins (Charles Simic)

I started this blog as a way of getting more exposure to poetry and to stretch, intellectually, a bit. Charles Simic is an example of a poet who I have been introduced to through this blog. I really like his poetry because it is simple and yet conveys a grandness beneath the veneer. An example - today's poem. You can also search for his name on the lower right where I have included a list of every poet I've talked about. The names are ranked by their frequency. So many (talented) names!

Anyhoo, today's poem is about death - the personification of death - the humanizing of the concept. In the beginning, I was getting bugged by this poem - many of the images are cliches and I have a personal dislike of beginning every line with a capital. But then with the last image, I get that death is everyone's partner (life's partner = true!). That maybe the earlier cliches are appropriate since isn't a cliche just a commonly repeated truth? Sounds like death itself is the biggest cliche, so why not emphasize that by having stuff like these lines:

The little
Wife always alone
Ironing death's laundry.
The beautiful daughters

Setting death's supper table.
The neighbors playing
Pinochle in the backyard
Or just sitting on the steps
Drinking beer.

Perhaps, there is no escaping death, so there is no escaping cliches? I dunno, or maybe this is just a weak poem. Maybe I am stretching too much. What do you think?

Favorite line: "Undressing slowly, sleepily, / And stretching naked / On death's side of the bed."

Undressing slowly, sleepily, And stretching naked

The little Wife always alone Ironing death's laundry. The beautiful daughters Setting death's supper table. The neighbors playing Pinochle in the backyard Or just sitting on the steps Drinking beer. - See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15259#sthash.AepVqxX8.dpuf

The little Wife always alone Ironing death's laundry. The beautiful daughters Setting death's supper table. The neighbors playing Pinochle in the backyard Or just sitting on the steps Drinking beer. - See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15259#sthash.AepVqxX8.dpuf

The little Wife always alone Ironing death's laundry. The beautiful daughters Setting death's supper table. The neighbors playing Pinochle in the backyard Or just sitting on the steps Drinking beer. - See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15259#sthash.AepVqxX8.dpuf

The little Wife always alone Ironing death's laundry. The beautiful daughters Setting death's supper table. The neighbors playing Pinochle in the backyard Or just sitting on the steps Drinking beer. - See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15259#sthash.AepVqxX8.dpuf