Cherrylog Road
Love and Lust
In every intimate relationship the partners have two choices of emotion; to either be in love or lust. According to Merriam-Webster (2010) love is, “a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties” and it states that lust is “an intense or unbridled sexual desire” (para. 1). In the poems “Cherrylog Road” by James L. Dickey and “Leaving the Motel” by W.D. Snodgrass secrets of love and lust are expressed through the eyes of the lovers. In the poem “Cherrylog Road” the male speaker is jumping from car to car in a junkyard waiting for his beloved Doris Holbrook to meet him. The poem states that, “For I knew that Doris Holbrook would escape from her father at noon” (Dickey, 2011, p.522), this depicts the idea that Doris Holbrook’s father did not approve of her relationship with the narrator, in turn making their meeting a secret. One part of the poem that shows the narrator is not simply waiting for Doris for the physical aspects of their relationship is when he states that he is, “praying for Doris Holbrook to come from her father’s farm” (Dickey, 2011, p.523), mentioning also that he cannot wait to hold her close. He also shows compassion by stating that he wishes for her to “get back with no trace of me on her face, to be seen by her red-haired father who would change, in the squalling barn, her back’s pale skin with a strop” (Dickey, 2011, p. 523). He is concerned that Doris will get physically reprimanded by her father if he were to find out about the two’s relationship. Doris’s love for the narrator is shown through her willingness to risk being caught by her father and the risk of abuse from him. When the two finally meet, the narrator explains how he “held her and held her and held her” (Dickey, 2011, p.523), showing how he is not just excited for the sexual aspect of their meeting, but also for the emotional aspect of simply holding his beloved. After the two have their rendezvous, they part their separate ways,
In every intimate relationship the partners have two choices of emotion; to either be in love or lust. According to Merriam-Webster (2010) love is, “a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties” and it states that lust is “an intense or unbridled sexual desire” (para. 1). In the poems “Cherrylog Road” by James L. Dickey and “Leaving the Motel” by W.D. Snodgrass secrets of love and lust are expressed through the eyes of the lovers. In the poem “Cherrylog Road” the male speaker is jumping from car to car in a junkyard waiting for his beloved Doris Holbrook to meet him. The poem states that, “For I knew that Doris Holbrook would escape from her father at noon” (Dickey, 2011, p.522), this depicts the idea that Doris Holbrook’s father did not approve of her relationship with the narrator, in turn making their meeting a secret. One part of the poem that shows the narrator is not simply waiting for Doris for the physical aspects of their relationship is when he states that he is, “praying for Doris Holbrook to come from her father’s farm” (Dickey, 2011, p.523), mentioning also that he cannot wait to hold her close. He also shows compassion by stating that he wishes for her to “get back with no trace of me on her face, to be seen by her red-haired father who would change, in the squalling barn, her back’s pale skin with a strop” (Dickey, 2011, p. 523). He is concerned that Doris will get physically reprimanded by her father if he were to find out about the two’s relationship. Doris’s love for the narrator is shown through her willingness to risk being caught by her father and the risk of abuse from him. When the two finally meet, the narrator explains how he “held her and held her and held her” (Dickey, 2011, p.523), showing how he is not just excited for the sexual aspect of their meeting, but also for the emotional aspect of simply holding his beloved. After the two have their rendezvous, they part their separate ways,
References: Birthstone Index. (2010). Retrieved April 6, 2010, from http://www.birthstoneindex.com/ Dickey, J. (2011). Cherrylog road. In A. Booth and K. Mays (Eds.), The Norton introduction to literature (10th ed.), (pp. 521-524). New York: Norton. Love. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary Lust. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary Snodgrass, W.D. (2011). Leaving the motel. In A. Booth and K. Mays (Eds.), The Norton introduction to literature (10th ed.), (pp. 477-478) New York: Norton.