I love the ramping up this poem does, the way it builds up in desperation, like that unstoppable force of death she is parsing out in this poem. I also love all the auditory details, even the way it feels like you can smell the rain, see the scene she is depicting to explain the way death creeps up. I also just loved the imagery of: “Is it weird to say I could hear you dying like that? Slowly, but viciously, inching your way toward the gray sky, tongue out to catch what was left of the world.”

1. Is there any line or image that stuck in particular for you, or the way she describes death?
2. What do you think of her discussing the joy found in the “before” but then emphasizing that despite this, under all that, she had still been dying?

I like the continuation of love and want in this poem, and it seems like this is becoming one of the themes of Part 3. Like everything else, she circles it back to nature, to being wild, and a love for all that is something that can’t be harnessed, tamed, or owned. It seems like she’s searching for echoes of that feeling in her actual relationships.

1. What did you think of the shift in this one, of her departing from that existentialism and staying grounded in her body here?
2. What image/sensory detail stuck out to you the most in this piece? I really enjoyed the description of the horse’s eyes.

I love how in this poem about love, longing, and want, there’s still that existential undercurrent present throughout the collection. Here, we’re zeroed in on the pleasure of being with someone, waiting for them, waiting for those quiet hours with them, and also simultaneously the uncertainty that she was ever loved, or even wanting to love someone. I love the imagery of the neon sign passing, of her pulling over the car, which is her body.

1. What image/sensory detail stuck out to you the most in this piece?
2. What do you think about the way she circles love and need back to death at the end? I feel like it almost grounds the pieces from lofty desires, but not too harshly.

I love how stripped back this one is. We’re left with the simple image of watching fireflies, and yet this too she connects to death. This time, its reflection on how she might have wanted to die in the past, and what she imagined that might feel like, what her soul might look like escaping.

1. What do you think of the contrast between the softness of the fireflies and the harsh image of “skin suit”? Is this meant to keep us aware of the severity of death, or could it mean something else?
2. What did you think of the title of the poem, “Field Bling”? Does it feel out of place for what she talks about in the poem, or does it help ease what she brings up?

I love the image of the divided snake in this, and how she first explains the expanse between the two halves, the impossibility of reunification. But then, in the end, she speaks on how despite that, the two halves travel towards each other, moving space and time to rejoin. I think it might be saying something about how even though it may feel like death separates you from someone, you still search for them, and in the end you’ll find them once more.

1. What did the divided snake mean to you all? Do you think it says something else besides a metaphor for love/death?
2. Why do you think she connects the snake back to the iconic image of creation, of the fall and the apple?

Thank you again for all your thoughts on Part 2- I can’t believe we’re already halfway done! Seeing Bright Dead Things in “Most Discussed Yesterday” was the highlight of my week!! So without further ado, Week 3 of our readalong starts today! As a reminder, Week 3/Part 3 will run from today, Sunday, May 17th, to Saturday, May 23rd. I’ve already begun posting the discussion questions, and they should all be up by Tuesday. Feel free to use this as a home base for overall thoughts on Part 3 as a whole, or for any questions/thoughts/concerns that don’t feel like they fit neatly into the discussion posts for this section! Excited to chat with you all on the next 14 poems in this collection :))