"Filling Station" and "Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota"

I thought that the way Elizabeth Bishop explained the setting in “Filling Station” was really interesting. She began the poem by describing all the dirty people and things inside this gas station, the opening line being “Oh, but it is dirty!” (page 33, line 1). I thought it was particularly interesting to describe this gas station with an “over-all black translucency” (page 33, lines 4-5) because that image is so contradictory. These lines allude to what we later learn about the workers of this gas station; their whole life is a contradiction. The details of the personal lives and stories behind these workers are unknown, but it is clear that they are dirty, ‘manly’ mechanics. The station at first glance is not very inviting, with a cement porch and a grease-covered dog, but upon further inspection we notice things one would typically find in their grandma’s living room; a daisy-embroidered doily covering a table set; a large begonia. This station, like the men, are not as dirty and drab like they are at first glance.

            “Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota” by James Wright describes the subjects surroundings from his point of view in a hammock (as the title says) in grave detail. He describes the scene of a typical farm, but from a slightly different angle. He speaks of “the cowbells follow one another” (page 290, line 5) rather than describing the actual cows. He focuses on their sounds rather than their being, because their sounds are affecting him more in this moment. The final line of the poem, “I have wasted my life,” (page 290, line 13) at first seems like it comes out of nowhere because everything before seemed lighthearted. But after rereading the poem as a whole, some of these lighthearted images can be seen in a much darker light. He notices “The droppings of last year’s horses” (page 290, line 9), showing that he dwells on the past.