Riddle of America, The - Waldorf Research Institute

“Every spring,” (line 24) with its shortness, reconcentrates onceagain on the turtle, “crawling” steadily. “She does not dream” under theload of sand packed against her; she does not long for anything differentor easier. The four lines and the rhyme of the last stanza echo the order that“she knows.” The alliteration in lines 29 and 30 lends to the harmony of theimage of her pond, her trees, her birds, all tied together. The four rhymingwords: “lives in,” “children,” “swim,” and “string” seem to symbolize thisturtle’s life; her surroundings, her fellow creatures, her daily activity, and thebond between all in nature, which is so important to the turtle’s existence.In “Milkweed,” Oliver steps into the world of the plant as she describesa stand of old, dried-out milkweed, and compares it to “a country ofdry women.” In line 3 the wind toys with the “flat leaves” of the milkweed,lifting and dropping them, displaying the powerlessness of the milkweed/women in relation to greater forces, in this case the wind. The statement inline 4 that “this is not kind” is blunt, contrasting with the longer sounds thatfollow: “retain,” “certain,” “crisp,” “glamour.” These longer sounds supportthe image that though these feminine beings have little control over theircondition, they stand firmly and dignified.The next four lines reveal the milkweed full, healthy, and in itsyouth, like women: “young,” “delicate,” “frightened,” “yet capable of acertain amount of rough joy.” The consonant sounds in line 8 emphasize“rough[ness],” yet the anapest of the line also gives it rhythm and a lilt,possibly reminiscent of dancing, of laughing, of men.Line 9 breaks the reflective revelry as Oliver addresses some person,using a long stream of wishful alliterative “w”s. To whom is she speaking?Could it be her mother or father? Perhaps she longs to be able to show thisperson the natural way of aging and letting go and sees this group of dryand empty, dignified milkweed as a model.Line 11 restores the picture of the milkweed/women. The hard “c”sounds in this line evoke the crispness and dryness of the old pods of themilkweed as it “crackles.” The last image in the poem is of these stalks ofmilkweed, only skeletons of what they once were, crackling “like a blessing”over their fleeing children. This picture portrays the very human experienceof letting go of those we love, which ideally includes both pain and delight.In the three poems, “Happiness,” “Turtle,” and “Milkweed,” onecan see a progression through the life of a woman. In “Happiness,” the bearis like a young girl, who, while escaping from her physical body, is at thesame time able to taste the essence of life. “The Turtle” embodies a respectablewoman, fulfilling gracefully her maternal destiny. She sees the world around249