Insomnia by Dana Gioia

Now you hear what the house has to say.

Pipes clanking, water running in the dark,

the mortgaged walls shifting in discomfort,

and voices mounting in an endless drone

of small complaints like the sounds of a family

that year by year you've learned how to ignore.

But now you must listen to the things you own,

all that you've worked for these past years,

the murmur of property, of things in disrepair,

the moving parts about to come undone,

and twisting in the sheets remember all

the faces you could not bring yourself to love.

How many voices have escaped you until now,

the venting furnace, the floorboards underfoot,

the steady accusations of the clock

numbering the minutes no one will mark.

The terrible clarity this moment brings,

the useless insight, the unbroken dark.

When I read Gioia's Insomnia, I immediately fell in love with what I thought to be the overall message or theme of the poem. Gioia personifies the house in the very first line, "Now you hear what the house has to say." He continues to add to the character of the house, by considering the noises of the house voices, " And voices mounting in an endless drone of small complaints like the sounds of a family..." and "How many voices have escaped you until now." The characteristics of the house, like the shifting walls and its voice, remind its owner of their horrible prioritizing skills. The owner spent to much of their life trying to make money and to own the best and finest things for the house. The voices the owner hears result from things that are broken like a faucet that leaks , "water running in the dark." The voices of the broken items are a metaphor for the broken life of the owner, who has nothing more than material objects. In addition to the metaphor, I felt there was a mood/tone of regret for putting possessions before people, when Gioia writes, "Remember all the faces you could not bring yourself to love."  Lastly the rhyming in the concluding stanza is noteworthy.  The rhyming within the last 3 lines (which is the only rhyming in the poem), ending with "mark" and "dark," emphasize the completion of the poet's thought with what he says in the last paragraph. Gioia ends the poem with the loneliness of the owner who finally in the darkness realizes the uselessness of material possessions and the value of the people you love.  "Numbering the minutes no one will mark," is a powerful line within the poem which renders intimate relationships more valuable than possessions which the owner doesn't realize until now. Overall, what Gioia's insomnia taught me was our material possessions, iPods and televisions should not be valued greatly however the relationships in our lives should. 

Location, Location, Location...

**Spoiler Alert** 

McCann's use of imagery provides images of the impoverished conditions of the Bronx. Corrigan's older brother, who is the narrator of book one, never neglects the run down streets. He mentions, "Traffic lights were stuck on permanent red. At fire hydrants there were huge puddles of stagnant water...A burned neon sign stood upright"(48). The funny thing is initially Corrigan never wanted to go to the slums of New York, he thought they would be too sophisticated for his purpose as a monk. However as I read on it is clear life is not easy in the decaying city surrounding the brothers. Besides the actual place, McCann notes the danger of the people. Corrigan often mentions having run-ins with the pimps just because he lets the prostitutes use the bathroom in the apartment. Also his older brother, mentions malevolent men standing in the doorways of the bodegas and a man in Corrigan's building who is teaching his dog how to bite and almost attacks him. In the end, the Bronx itself is its own damaged character which adds to the story of the two brothers. 

The older brother moved to the Bronx with very little, in a rush to get away from the war in Ireland. However he finds himself living in an impoverished area in the city and he's worried about his brother. Initially he's worried about Corrigan using smack  but instead he learns Corrigan's got TTP. I really feel bad for the older brother, he left Ireland seeking refuge in the Bronx trying to get away from the horrors of the war. Conversely, the poor guy finds himself with more problems.

Let the Great World Spin (Spoiler Alert)

Recently I started reading Let the Great World Spin by  Colum McCann. At first I was a little worried, as beautiful as McCann's writing is the first three pages described entirely the anticipation of the crowd watching the tightrope walk across the Twin Towers in the 70s, but nothing about the actual walk. However, the novel took its own direction completely moving from New York City to Ireland and back. Immediately the characters Corrigan and his older brother are introduced and Corrigan is everything a protagonist should be. Corrigan reminds me of Jesus, since he was a young boy he would spend time with the drunks in his town. He would hang out with them on Fridays and listen to their stories and help them as best he could in a way he tried to absorb and understand their pain. Even without his generous acts he is described as lovable by his brother; being that he is able to brighten anyone's day, it is a gift of his. 

On the other hand, his brother seems less great. Unlike Corrigan, he would stay after school and play rugby, his actions and character are less admirable but more easily understood. As an older sister, I expected his older brother to be more jealous. As siblings its hard not to compare yourself sometimes, and standing next to Corrigan is not a place a lot of people would want to be when it comes time for judgement. So far the only time he mentions any of his jealousy is when he see his saintly brother cannot forgive their father for what he did to them, he mentions, "It pleased me a little to think that he had a flaw  and that it went so deep that he couldn't deal with it." However he isn't malicious he's ashamed, he knows he shouldn't feel that way about his brother. As much as I admire Corrigan, I identify better with his older brother but I am interested to keep reading and see where their relationship and the plot goes.