Distrustful of the Gentian
And just to turn away
A gentian is a flower. I didn’t know that. In the Pacific Northwest where I live I do not often see the gentian flower as they are not often sold in the nurseries around here.
Shes pointing out the whimsical nature of beauty. A gentian flower as you can see above is rather beautiful. Well, okay most every flower is - except dandelions.
The sparse language and fragmented grammar lend to discussing the fragile nature of beauty.
Flees so the phantom meadow
Some versions of ‘Not to trust the Gentian’ also include ‘Flees so the phantom meadow’. The one that I use does not do this but has these published as two separate poems.
Getting technical here but the use of spondee or near spondee.
Spondees, metrical feet consisting of two stressed syllables, play a unique role in poetry. Unlike the more common iambs or trochees, spondees create a distinct emphatic effect, often used to slow down the rhythm or draw attention to particular words. In English poetry, true spondees are relatively rare, as it's uncommon for two consecutive syllables to receive exactly equal stress in natural speech. However, near-spondaic effects are frequently employed by poets to add weight and emphasis to their lines.
The use of spondees requires careful consideration, as their heavy nature can disrupt the flow of a poem if overused. Poets typically deploy spondees sparingly, often at pivotal moments in a verse to create impact or underscore important ideas. In scansion, spondees are usually marked as two consecutive stressed syllables (/ /). While more prevalent in classical Greek and Latin poetry, where meter was based on syllable length rather than stress, spondees continue to be a valuable tool in the modern poet's arsenal, adding variety and intensity to metrical compositions.
‘phantom meadow’
‘breathless bee’
‘evening spires’
‘closing go’
Could all be read as spondees, but it is more a matter of how they are read aloud that matters.
But ending the lines with spondees or something similar slows readers down. In this case the result is not plodding, but an affect of despondance. Sadness.
Heaven is always nearly unattainable.