“Etching of a Line of Trees”

John Glenday’s poem “Etching of a Line of Trees” is my favorite of his poems published in the 2010 Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology, primarily because of the imagery it evokes. Glenday’s poems are characterized by fresh ways of looking at the world, and this one is particularly expressive.

The imagery uses the idea of creating an etching or block to be printed, where the areas that the artist wants to reveal must be cut out of the block. This imagery is particularly strong because he brings the human form into the image. The image of an artist not being able to bear removing the figure from the block, even if that is the only way to make it appear once it is printed, is striking. Glenday’s imagery is made stronger by his choice of words suggesting a very feral or dangerous level of existence: cut, survival, gnawed. His alliteration of “stood shivering” also invokes the image and feel of shivering as the s’s hiss between my teeth.

There is also a very nice flow of repetition, which suggests several paradoxes. He removes the hill, only to allow the hill grow, cuts the trees, only to have them stand, shivering, and burned the wind, only to have it rise again. The final two lines are an excellent conclusion using this repetition running throughout the poem, as everything he touches turns to darkness, with everything he does not, or cannot, touch turning to light.

A printed etching of trees.