A Postcard from the Volcano

       Sitting out on the deck, the old man enjoyed a glass of wine in the chilly autumn evening. He had had the same routine for several decades. Siblings, children, grandchildren had all been there and left at some time or another, running around exploring the rows of grape vines. Oblivious to the fact that most of the vines were older even than the old man. Little notice given to the gate at the front, possessing their name and guarding the big house that secured the sprawling acreage. But as the seasons come and go, still no one took the same interest the old man had, in what their family had been doing for so long. And so the vines and mansion fell to disrepair. And so did too the old man. As he sat upon his deck and gazed out at the sun which always seemed to be shining down on his house upon the hill.....


     "A Postcard from the Volcano" proved to be a sort of legacy poem to me. For some reason I couldn't shake the imagery of a person at the end of their life looking back at what was in front of them and what they had done and realizing that the future children will never be able to understand it all. I think thats what Stevens does by having volcano in the title. I always think of volcanoes and eruptions. Eruptions usually mean the major destruction of everything around and the preservation of the stuff that was covered in it. Pompeii is the city that is most prominent in my mind. The volcano froze the city and left it to be discovered much later, but still will never be completely understood, no matter how much studying is dedicated to it.
    I guess if the title had been different I would have most likely never come up with this backstory. I am coming to think that that is apart of Stevens's talent as a poet. He comes up with these bizarre tittles that stick in the readers brain and set a path for the interpretation for the rest of the reading of the poem.