Ann Arbor Variations Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCDE FGHG IJKI GFGI LGGM JNGJ IOI GPJ IIQ GGI ORI JST IIF UIGOIVIFRGIGWIXF OIYI ZFKI A2IB2C2 FGQD2 RIBI E2JGO

A
Wet heat drifts through the afternoonB
like a campus dog a fraternity ghostC
waiting to stay home from football gamesD
The arches are empty clear to the skyE
-
Except for the leaves those lashes of ourF
thinking and dreaming and drinking sightG
The spherical radiance the Old EnglishH
look the sum of our being hath percedG
-
to the roote all our springs and fallsI
and now rolls over our limpness a dailyJ
dragon We lose our health in a loveK
of color drown in a fountain of myriadsI
-
as simply as children It is too hotG
our birth was given up to screaming OurF
life on these street lawns seems silentG
The leaves chatter their comparisonsI
-
to the wind and the sky fills upL
before we are out of bed O infiniteG
our siestas adobe effigies in a landG
that is sick of us and our tanned fleshM
-
The wind blows towards us particularlyJ
the sobbing of our dear friends on bothN
coasts We are sick of living and afraidG
that death will not be by water o seaJ
-
-
Along the walks and shaded waysI
pregnant women look snidely at childrenO
Two weeks ago they were told in theseI
-
selfsame pools of trefoil the marketG
for emeralds is collapsing chlorophyllP
shines in your eyes the sea's miseryJ
-
is progenitor of the dark moss which hidesI
on the north side of trees and criesI
What do they think of slim kids nowQ
-
and how when the summer's gong of dayG
and night slithers towards their sweatG
and towards the nest of their armsI
-
and thighs do they feel about childrenO
whose hides are pearly with days of swimmingR
Do they mistake these fresh drops for tearsI
-
The wind works over these women constantlyJ
trying perhaps to curdle their milkS
or make their spring unseasonably fearfulT
-
season they face with dread and bright eyesI
The leaves wrinkled or shiny like applesI
wave women courage and sigh a void temperatureF
-
-
The alternatives of summer do not removeU
us from this place The fainting into skiesI
from a diving board the express train toG
Detroit's damp bars the excess of affectionO
on the couch near an open window or a BauhausI
fire escape the lazy regions of stars allV
are strangers Like Mayakovsky read on stepsI
of cool marble or Yeats danced in a theatreF
of polite music The classroon day of dozingR
and grammar the partial eclipse of the headG
in the row in front of the head of poplarsI
sweet Syrinx last out the summer in a stayG
of iron Workmen loiter before urinals stareW
out windows at girders tightly strapped to cloudsI
And in the morning we whimper as we cookX
an egg so far from fluttering sands and azureF
-
-
The violent No of the sunO
burns the forehead of hillsI
Sand fleas arrive from Salt LakeY
and most of the theatres closeI
-
The leaves roll into cigars orZ
it seems our eyes stick togetherF
in sleep O forest o brook ofK
spice o cool gaze of strangersI
-
the city tumbles towards autumnA2
in a convulsion of touristsI
and teachers We dance in the darkB2
forget the anger of what we blameC2
-
on the day Children toss and murmurF
as a rumba blankets their trees andG
beckons their stars closer older nowQ
We move o'er the world being so much hereD2
-
It's as if Poseidon left off countingR
his waters for a moment In the fieldsI
the silence is music like the moonB
The bullfrogs sleep in their hairy cavesI
-
across the avenue a trefoil lampE2
of the streets tosses luckilyJ
The leaves finally love us andG
moonrise we die upon the sunO

Frank O'hara



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Manpreet kaur: Wonderful ...awesome
 

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