After we went over this poem in class and I understood it, I liked it. At first I was a little bit confused, but now that I know what is going on I find it to be a very calm, relaxing, and a sweet poem.
I like how the kid in the poem is so confident and really enjoys his little experience. He doesn't take his it for granted and really seems to use it to reflect on himself. Although his "walking on water" experience wasn't actually walking on water and it happened when he was a kid, he still reflects on it when he is an adult.
Dickey uses words that are relaxing and pretty. For example I like how he said this, "A curious pilgrim hiking/ Between two open blue worlds,/ My motion a miracle,/ Leaving behind me no footprint,/ But only the shimmering place of an infinite step upon water." Once I put the words to a meaning I got a strong mental picture. It just seems so peaceful and relaxing.
Throughout the rest of the poem Dickey uses the same language to make the child seem so happy just gliding across the water. When the kid sees the shark it's kind of scary, but he just keeps on going, like he has all of the animals in the water mesmerized. It almost seems that he is mesmerized at well. No one can really believe he's just pushing his way across the water all by himself.
I also like how Dickey is telling the story of him "walking on water." I feel that he is telling it as it has actually happened to him, and perhaps it has because the details that he uses are so familiar.
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I also enjoyed Dickey's word chose for this poem "Walking on Water." I thought the words he used were very calming and serene, and I feel this added to the effect of water because water is always seen as a calm thing. I think Dickey used these kinds of words like you pointed out in that stanza to show that walking on the water was "easy" and something you should do as a meditation kind of a process to clear your mind.
I agree with you that the poem took on a whole new meaning after we discussed it in class. I think that the poem is a good reminder of how childhood used to be. I think that Dickey was illustrating the innocence of childhood. That is as a child everything can be real and amazing. Walking on water can be possible in a sense. Maybe he wants the reader to get in touch with their "inner child
I really liked how you ended your blog. I agree that Dickey has a familiarity with his poems that makes you wonder if he is the main character and if the events in the poem really happened to him. I think this makes us perceive his poetry as genuine and honest as opposed to made-up, uninterpretable poetry jargon.
I also agree that after we discussed the poem in class it meant something so much more than I had originally thought, but that's pretty much how it was for all of the poems, at least for me. "Walking on Water" is a very unique poem, I think. I know I've never read anything like it, but that seems to be how most of Dickey's poems are.
Amanda,
I also enjoyed reading the poem “Walking on Water.” Even though I only thought that it had a spiritual meaning at first, now that we have discussed it, I feel that its message is much more decipherable as well. It is easy to imagine a small child who is exploring and just relaxes the whole day, while trying to conquer this new feat. He is quite proud of himself and as you said, I definitely agree that he has even “mesmerized” himself. For he is in such awe of what he has accomplished, that he just has a placid happiness to him, like a content baby in its bassinet.
I wish I had been in class when everyone discussed this poem. I really liked it and thought that it had a fun playful tone. I also liked that even though the person isn't really walking on water you can see how easily it would appear that way. it's kinda like some young children think they can or are flying when they are jumping off of something.
I agree, the stroy seems so calm. Even some of the evens like when there is a shark next to him, when most people would be scared, he isn't and it shows in the poem not changing tone at all. It seems very calm and I like the way Dickey describes it, so much that you can see the boy out on the water, and as far as I read, most times poems don't create as much a picture for me as a story.
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