Wednesday, February 4, 2015

What is the point of this short poem?Last Stand by Keith Jennison When the alarm came He saddled up his fence, Took the bit in his teeth And...

This poem, 'Last Stand' by Keith Jennison, reminds me of the literary and historical character Don Quixote. This character, a parody of a knight from the days of chivalry, deicides to go on a mssion, a long pilgrimage around the world in a quest against his rivals or his adversaries - the windmills. I imagine him on an aged and bony steed, crippled with arthritis and rheumatism - perhaps with a touch of dementia or alzheimers too - galloping (trotting!) at the 'enemy' with a long, long lance he can barely carry. His sidekick, Sancho Panza cheers him on. The novel, if you would like to compare the allusion, is by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Like the threats in your poem, the 'windmills' were of the mind (imaginary) so look for modern day threats, virtual or real in the background. In your poem the character appears to be being accused of inaction. I have provided the link to the work by Cervantes  below:

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