The Possessive - Empty Nest :: Possessive Essays

The Possessive - Empty Nest A nest lies empty on top a forked branch of an old oak tree. Last spring children play, young lovers whisper into each others ear, and the elderly relax under that tree. When they do, they smoke hear the quiet chirps of little hungry baby blue-jays. The little blue-jays chirp until the mother blue-jay returns with food . After wards, one attempts to fell and fall out of the nest. The mother blue-jay thus 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, further she knows that one day he will no longer rely on her. On that day, instead of plummeting to his death, the young blue-jay will spread his wings and fly away. He will fly straight into the setting sun never looking back. Slowly all of the young will fly away and choke the mother alone in the nest. However, mothers do not always handle this situation calmly. In The Possessive, Sharon Olds conjures earnest im ages of betrayal and utilizes war as a simile 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 wittiness 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 pull up strong images of discomfort. The barber is described as a knife grinder (4) sharpening the edges of her daughters hair as if they are weapons. Olds slips words such as slice and web, 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, expiration fire The strong intense color 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 emotions. The intense images express the intensity 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 metaphor presence in the poem.