Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE BUTCHER SHOP by DAVID IGNATOW

Poet Analysis

First Line: A DISCIPLINED INSTITUTION
Last Line: BEFORE A BLOCK OF WOOD, / A KIND OF ALTAR
Subject(s): BUTCHERS; SOCIAL COMMENTARIES;

My work has become the making of tragic poems
to denounce me for my failures, each one
telling me of my selfishness and ungenerosity
toward others, of my inability to unbend.
I remain still, humble and ashamed in myself
to have given my poems a share of my bitterness,
now turned against me. I turn to my wife
as she takes my hands, knowing how I suffer
for being damned with my own deeds
and she protests. Do I not realize
I have a tree to sit under
and the whispering of its leaves
to listen to? They play about my head
and at my feet and have a father
to acknowledge them.



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