November Poet: Kay Ryan, Pt 3

Well Carol wanted a cheerful poem this week and I did try! Actually I suppose this could be cheerful - what do you think?

Here's an interesting 2008 interview from the Charlie Rose show. It features Kay Ryan and James Billington, the Librarian of Congress. Ryan's poetry has been compared to Marianne Moore and Emily Dickinson.  She mentions in the interview that she was recently compared to Robinson Jeffers and she liked the comparison because of the violence in his poetry. She says that Jeffers focuses on raptor claws and she'd like to think there are some claws in her work. I would say there are claws in her work. There are claws in this poem. 

Sheep in Wolves Clothing

Of all the unpleasant
affectations of soi-distant
wolves, the most unpleasant
is their teeth: blunt ruminant
sheep stumps built up
to something no one could
really kill with. Decorative
in the worst sense. An offense
to economy and outright
blasphemy in the context
of true wolf philosophy,
which states very clearly
that every bluff must
promote good. Which means
you eat what you've fooled:
all of Little Red Riding,
from her shoes to her hood.

Kay Ryan