and the notebook, turned to a new page, .
was blank except for a faint blue idea of order,.
taken from Sun Under Wood.
Hass's poems have many varying topics which all have some meaning to him. .
His thoughts of his alcoholic mother are shown in his poem "Our Lady of the Snows." Through the use of imagery and irony he shows her alcoholism affected his life.
" When my mother was in a hospital drying .
out,.
or drinking at a pace that would put her there.
soon,.
I would slip in the side door,.
light an aromatic candle,.
and bargain for us both,.
Or else I"d stare into the day-moon of that face.
And, if I concentrated fly- .
His love of nature is clearly evident in "Iowa City: Early April." This is evident in "The bright orange cat, and the first pool of green grass.".
" The bright orange of the cat, and the first.
pool.
of green grass leaves in early April, and the.
birdsong-that orange and that green.
not colors you"d set next to one another.
in the human scheme.
And the crows" calls, even before you open.
your eyes, at sunup.".
Many of his poems involve political or moral issues that were important to him and who he was. This can be seen in "English: An Ode." "To make habitual references to social and political problems in poems," shows how he used his poetry to let the world know what he thought of politics.
.
" There are those who think it's in fairly .
bad taste.
to make habitual references to.
social and political problems.
in poems. To these people it seems a.
form of melodrama.
or self-aggrandizement, which it no.
doubt partly is.
And there's no doubt either that these.
same people also tend.
to feel that it ruins a perfectly good.
party.
to be constantly making reference to .
the poor oppressed-.
Hass uses his poems to reflect upon his thoughts, the things he enjoys, and issues that effect the world.
