The Possessive - Empty Nest :: Possessive Essays

The Possessive - Empty Nest A nest lies mindless on top a forked branch of an old oak tree tree. Last spring children play, young lovers whisper into each others ear, and the elderly unwind under that tree. When they do, they can hear the quiet chirps of little hungry pander blue-jays. The little blue-jays chirp until the fetch blue-jay returns with food . Afterwards, mavin attempts to fly and fade out of the nest. The mother blue-jay then quickly swoops down and catches the little one before he hits the ground. The baby jay can always depend on his mother when he needs her, but she knows that one day he pass on no longer rely on her. On that day, sooner of plummeting to his death, the young blue-jay will spread his wings and fly away. He will fly straight into the effectting sun never looking back. tardily all of the young will fly away and leave the mother alone in the nest. However, mothers do not always handle this agency calmly. In The Possessive, Sharon Olds conjure s intense images of betrayal and utilizes war as a allegory to express a mothers emotion as her daughter leaves the nest. The poem reflects the separation anxiety the mother undergoes as she witnesses her daughter mature and distance herself. To set the mood of the poem, Olds relies heavily on imagery to create the effect. The mother feels betrayed as she watches her daughter slip away from her. Small trivial acts like a simple haircut evoke strong images of discomfort. The barber is described as a knife grinder (4) bullyening the edges of her daughters hair as if they are weapons. Olds slips words such as slice and blade, which thrust images of separation into the mind of the reader. She follows these images with sharp edges and cold steel, and then she tops it off with a blazing, red set down The strong intense cloak red spills over the lines of the poem as blood of soldiers in a heated battle. The vibrant nature of the color red attracts the human eye creating intense emot ions. The intense images express the specialty of the mothers emotions. The imagery in this poem aches the pain and discomfort the mother experiences as mother and daughter prepare for a battle. The images create the war allegory presence in the poem.