Analysis on a New Yorker Poem

For my AP English class we were assigned to write an analysis/thought piece on a poem from The New Yorker. I chose the poem below from the January 1, 2018 edition:

Advent

By Bridget Lowe

God said—Look at it this way—The poinsettias
have to endure themselves—so many

pornographic reds in one place—their effect
that of the clown—all mouth—it’s too much—

And so you must also endure your form—
make the best of things—stop moping around—

Sometimes I spy you from the top tier
of my treehouse in the woods—with my special

binoculars—I have to get the leaves out
of my eyes first—adjust the black knobs—

Then the top of your head, your bangs hanging
limply in your eyes—you are always alone,

in clothes that seem a size too small—a girl-ox
moving through the grass—so dumb—

pulling a cart filled with the adult world—
its anxieties and lusts stacked like logs,

all that liquid grief pooling in the bottom—
You think I didn’t see but I saw—the little slits

they made in your flesh, just below the ribs—

How they tried to fit their fingers in, and more—

The wound—it bled and bled—I watched—
And so I sent him like a hologram—to you—

Speak, child. What are you waiting for—?

As I was  looking for poems in several other New Yorker Magazines I found the Bridget Lowe's name on a few of the poems. Bridget Lowe is a very young writer which is a big change to what we usually study in class. Most of our pieces that we read in class belong to 16th and 17th century writers, or pieces set in certain periods, but nothing really in todays modern society. But the main reason I picked this piece before any of the others is the motivation I found from this piece.

The title itself is Advent. I surprisingly didn't know the meaning of this word until I searched it, but it means the arrival of a notable person, place, or event. Notable and prestigious things we view in life often motivate us to be exactly like that or strive for that sort of superior lifestyle. In this poem I think the speaker is telling a lesson to a child, themselves, or another person. The first line is "God said—Look at it this way—The poinsettias," which is what introduces the setting of this piece being told in story format. The first half I feel focuses on all the hardships going on around the world. The speaker says "The poinsettias have to endure themselves-so many," meaning that lots of flowers die and can't function themselves. Then to add to the negativity in the line following the speaker continues by saying, "pornographic reds in one place." Pornographic has a negative connotation relating to sex, and illegal actions. Red doesn't have a negative connotation, but in this sense it could be relating to blood by being connected to pornographic. Then after this the poem becomes demanding and motivational. The sixth line says, "make the best of things-stop moping around-." The speaker is demanding that the audience learn from the poinsettias and pornographic reds, to open their eyes about the difficult their going through isn't worth moping around about, that there is much worse going on in the world. 

Then the speaker talks to their audience in a way giving their opinion on the person they are speaking too. The speaker views him from a distance. The speaker says, "I have to get the leaves out of my eyes," and I view this as a way of getting the distractions or the filters out of the way and viewing this person for what they really are not all the things that they pretend to be. This person they  are talking to in their opinion is an alone, independent person, full of anxiety, dumbness, and needing of God. But the most motivational piece of this poem is the last line, "Speak child. What are you waiting for-?" It hits me into thinking what am I waiting for. I can go chase my dreams now, I can stop mopping around, I can do this and that and nothing is stopping me so what am I waiting for? So what are you waiting for? What is the child here waiting for?