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Butterfly Effect: An Analysis of Ask Me
In 2014, Ask Me was published by William Stafford and son Kim, that included his 100 essential poems. “The Well Rising” was mentioned by professor John Felstiner when challenged to “pick one poem that could save the world”. The poems are filled with similar scenes and tone, that continues to transitions to different moments in history. Stafford was born in Kansas and lived through World War Two, which also continuous referenced in his poetry. The voice throughout his poems are genuine, asking the reader for their own interpretation. His unequivocal presence speaks with a quiet beckoning question in each poem to the reader. Some of the surfaces of poems may seem elementary, however if looked between the lines, there also could be a manifold of origins to the poem. This poem “The Well Rising” is a poem of integrity, and parts of this poem makes claims about the importance of movement.
The title of the poem, “The Well Rising,” is an example of intricacy with the surface looking calm and tranquil. The form on the page is formatted plain- three four line stanzas and no couplet. However, if the reader takes note of the representation of objects in the poem, exhibits the truth of a “poem that could save the world with a calm and tranquil surface”:
The well rising without sound,
the spring on a hillside,
the plowshare brimming through deep ground
everywhere in the field—
The sharp swallows in their swerve
flaring and hesitating
hunting for the final curve
coming closer and closer—
The swallow heart from wingbeat to wingbeat
counseling decision, decision:
thunderous examples. I place my feet
with care in such a world.
This poem shows Stafford placing himself into the narrative and nature as well. The poem sets the scene with the first stanza, then introduces the swallows in second, then himself in the third. The second and third stanza need the first to set the mood meant by the author. This poem has a strong association to the earth, so the first determining thought is the setting. The well water rising is the most natural form of producing water, that was made by man. Being placed on the hillside, spring is mention which brings in the warmth of the poem. The plowshare is an instrument man made, and skims through the soil of a field. The second stanza brings in a species of bird, which size is considerably small. They make quick and swift decisions with their swerves, slicing through the air. “The swallow heart is compared wingbeat to wingbeat,” (pg.80) which could represent the flock. They make the decisions together, an instinct to fly with continuity. The ending line is with Stafford placing his feet in the world, carefully as if his presence makes a difference. This is the surface of the text, and which could represent the bigger picture.
Stafford mentions the well and spring, when he could’ve chosen any other piece of landscape. These simplified settings let the story of the poem relatable. Choosing the swallow and himself, it gives a silhouette for the readers to place themselves inside. Stafford allows himself into the narrative, but wants the reader to place themselves in the poem. This poem was mentioned to be one of the poems to save the Earth. The reader detects the poem drawing for a bigger narrative. The speaker sends out a signal, soft with premise. The reader gets to immerse themselves into the supple land, thinking of which way the direction of the poem goes. This is significant for the reader to be able to put in their perceptive. The poem does elude to a substantial meaning, with Stafford wanting the reader realize something. Maybe a debatable topic of how, ourselves begin to treat the world. With such a soft, easy manipulated environment with the purpose is there to achieve the underlining of this poem. The speaker is not so much of discovering a piece of land, but bringing the reader to understand daily conscious decisions we make to the environment and awareness to it.
The poet talks about the praise and dedication to nature. The reason this could be considered a poem to save the world, is that Stafford brings in the attention for the small details. He mentions a type of bird swallows being thunderous examples. This could make the argument that the smallest creature still holds an important role for the world. The poem reflects the actions we should make on the surface to preserve the earth we continuously build on, and the air we sparingly breathe.
The way this poem is shown could also tie into the movie “Butterfly Effect,” which explains the concept of small notions creating an impact on the bigger concept. “In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state,” (Wolchover, 2011). If we expand more than we should, we could make a huge impact for the future. Looking around and seeing the effect we have, whether we do it ourselves or not, we still implement our time into this earth. When he says, “I place my feet with care in such a world,” we tend to question why with care. The idea of the butterfly effect is that taking into consideration our actions, no matter the simplicity of said action.
This poem shows the power of integrity, and parts of makes claims about the quality of movement, with the response made by people. The words taken a sense of virtue with the swallows showing their tremendous examples of being the delicate, and Stafford placing his feet on the world with care. This poem comes with the sense of responsibility and commitment with the ending line. Being able to understand the basics of the poem, could lead admission to the lack of care we give the world.
Works Cited
Stafford, William, and Kim Robert Stafford. Ask Me: 100 Essential Poems. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Cicero, Linda. "An Author Asks: 'Can Poetry Save The Earth?'" NPR. NPR, 13 Apr. 2009. Web.
Wolchover, Natalie Wolchover. "Can a Butterfly in Brazil Really Cause a Tornado in Texas?" LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 13 Dec. 2011.