How to Write About Poetry

Paraphrase of “I taste a liquor never brewed”

I partake of the intoxicating elements of nature: the air, the dew, the sunshine, the sky. Even though the bees and butterflies may take their fill, I will continue to partake of nature without becoming filled by it until the angels themselves behave like comic drunkards, attracting the attention of the saints in Heaven, as the angels themselves lean against the sun like earthly drunks leaning against lamp poles.

Paraphrase of “A Dream Deferred”

hat becomes of a dream that is repeatedly put off for a later time? Does it lose all its vitality, until it is a shriveled version of its former self? On the other hand, does it become corrupt and diseased like a boil oozing pus? Does it putrefy and lose that which made it valuable and supportive? Does it transform from something alluring and delightful to something repugnant and disgusting? Perhaps it just oppresses the dreamer because it is not fulfilled. Ultimately, does it erupt into violent disappointment?