tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2755123332716147532.post3985080039878628340..comments2023-09-26T08:04:43.755-07:00Comments on Mark Doty: Death and the ZebrasMark Dotyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04148162515300148887noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2755123332716147532.post-20895150790341442572009-12-27T11:46:49.970-08:002009-12-27T11:46:49.970-08:00I agree with all who said the key is in the number...I agree with all who said the key is in the numbers. As the poem progresses, the numbers start to function like names, making the speaker one of the herd, knowing his fellow zebras individually.magdance@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04750065015748075509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2755123332716147532.post-24532795156722057302009-12-19T01:58:58.992-08:002009-12-19T01:58:58.992-08:00Thank you! Great find. I agree with Apprentice tha...Thank you! Great find. I agree with Apprentice that the numbers are the key to it. Strange and convincing. Also surreally reminiscent of a marathon or motor race, where all the competitors are numbered.Mark McGuinnesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07734411614287385694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2755123332716147532.post-84561497987213797722009-12-18T04:59:53.289-08:002009-12-18T04:59:53.289-08:00I think this poem is sad, because it leaves me fe...I think this poem is sad, because it leaves me feeling the powerful vulnerablity and innocence animals have and how hard it must be to live in the wild. Zebras are so beautiful and hold a special meaning today known as progress. It's frightening though, and I'm still afraid for them.Jeanne Fiedlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00342176912570472210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2755123332716147532.post-5776699775480628182009-12-17T02:17:40.076-08:002009-12-17T02:17:40.076-08:00Love it. Wish the prairie wasn't parched, thou...Love it. Wish the prairie wasn't parched, though. It only sometimes is, and whatever its condition, zebras have to drink.Rethabilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03523368313680103826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2755123332716147532.post-59216362455853069472009-12-15T21:02:13.442-08:002009-12-15T21:02:13.442-08:00Wow! That is really terrific. I agree that it mana...Wow! That is really terrific. I agree that it manages to convince one that this is exactly how zebras would see things.<br />Thank you!Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18045787712925200696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2755123332716147532.post-90912862216339290952009-12-15T20:49:50.958-08:002009-12-15T20:49:50.958-08:00Reminds me of Les Murray's "The Cows on K...Reminds me of Les Murray's "The Cows on Killing Day" (first line: "All me are standing on feed. The sky is shining.") But this poem inverts the anonymity of numbers into a remarkable specificity by which the zebras have an amazing knoweldge of their own identities. Love it.Jason Schneidermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08868464065555584683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2755123332716147532.post-56500237566923600512009-12-12T09:28:54.968-08:002009-12-12T09:28:54.968-08:00I agree with all that been said. He must have watc...I agree with all that been said. He must have watched some wildlife footage of mass migrations - but the random numbering is the key yo it I think, it gives you the sense of the ebb and flow of a huge herd running full pelt, and we can all add our own experiences of big crowds to know how that feels.apprenticehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13784785172285984036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2755123332716147532.post-66820582106031684612009-12-10T20:57:51.425-08:002009-12-10T20:57:51.425-08:00I feel that way too -- that despite the fact that ...I feel that way too -- that despite the fact that we understand these events as metaphors for or projections of human experience, it somehow manages to convince me that this is exactly how zebras would see things, how they'd think. How did he do that?Mark Dotyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04148162515300148887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2755123332716147532.post-61758083374889240052009-12-10T18:05:43.679-08:002009-12-10T18:05:43.679-08:00beautiful, powerful, and because it's convinci...beautiful, powerful, and because it's convincing, eerie.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12306491903311869968noreply@blogger.com