[1003] The Connoisseuse of Slugs

Guest poem submitted by Juan, <juan@>:

When I was a connoisseuse of slugs
I would part the ivy leaves, and look for the
naked jelly of those gold bodies,
translucent strangers glistening along the
stones, slowly, their gelatinous bodies
at my mercy.  Made mostly of water, they would shrivel
to nothing if they were sprinkled with salt,
but I was not interested in that.  What I liked
was to draw aside the ivy, breathe the
odor of the wall, and stand there in silence
until the slug forgot I was there
and sent its antennae up out of its
head, the glimmering umber horns
rising like telescopes, until finally the
sensitive knobs would pop out the
ends, delicate and intimate.  Years later,
when I first saw a naked man,
I gasped with pleasure to see that quiet
mystery reenacted, the slow
elegant being coming out of hiding and
gleaming in the dark air, eager and so
trusting you could weep.

	-- Sharon Olds

This is one of my favorite "love" poems. I like the mystery and sense of
discovery, "delicate and intimate", with not a note of eroticism or
lubriciousness. The emphasis lies in the sense of surprise and wonder at the
end, on the delicious naivete of the narrative voice. And what a trope! It
reminds me of the eloquent conceits of the Metaphysical poets, especially
John Donne. (cf. "The Flea", which is another love poem that might itself be
appropriate this week!).

Juan.

[Minstrels Links]

Love poems:
Poem #997, The Passionate Shepherd to His Love -- Christopher Marlowe
Poem #998, A Blade of Grass -- Brian Patten
Poem #999, Casabianca -- Elizabeth Bishop
Poem #1001, The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd -- Sir Walter Raleigh
Poem #1002, The Bait -- John Donne
Poem #1003, The Connoisseuse of Slugs -- Sharon Olds

Sharon Olds:
Poem #812, Sex Without Love
Poem #1003, The Connoisseuse of Slugs

[Administrivia]

Some of you may have received two copies of yesterday's poem, "The Bait" by
John Donne, by mistake. Our apologies.

From: "Nancy Lovell" <nlovell@>

This is weird as beans, but where is Kenny when we need him most?

From: sandi_ordinario@

Comments on Poem #1003, Sharon Olds' The Connoisseuse of Slugs

First off, who is Kenny? I could be considered his clone for now.

This poem is eroticism to a high degree but craftily masked by simple
almost innocuous verbiage.

The poet speaks of ivy leaves (remember Adam and Eve's initial attempt
to cover their nakedness after the Fall). "Naked jelly of those golden
bodies" could not be taken as too allegorically to be considered almost
self-explanatory.

It talks of foreplay as controlled by the woman, "translucent strangers
glistening along the stones, slowly their gelatinous bodies at MY mercy."

Sharon goes on to describe the sexual experience until finally the
"sensitive knobs would pop out the ends, delicate and intimate" perhaps
a woman's reaction to the ever-mounting crescendo of pleasure.

The last few lines are corelation to the emotional experience in re-enactment
"eager and so trusting you could weep" But this is what throws me off: Was 
the description early on in the poem simply imagined or experienced because 
the poetess mentioned about the similarity between that and the first time
she sees a naked man's body.

Since I am not a woman, I have difficulty also to empathize her emotion. It 
seems like sex for her at least arouses several facets of love such as the 
usual reaction to a lover's love, also a form of motherly (all encompassing)
type of love and possibly others so the phrase "you could weep" may actually
represent the normal reaction of women to fulfilled desire or desire in
progress. The whole imagery is not debasing to both sexes as the run-of-the
mill pornography but in fact embodies somethings pleasant and intriguing. Just
my take.

Sandi