Description:
When first exiting the doors of the Green Street T stop, I am confronted with a large wall, filled with warning and high voltage signs. A playground sits to the left of the tracks. To my right is the MBTA monument. It is tall, black, granite and has three sides. The monument is shiny and well kept.
About the Author:
Mary Bonina was born in Worcester, MA. Bonina earned her M.F.A. in the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. Her poem was inscribed as a result of winning the Boston Contemporary Writers' competition.
Response:
In Bonina's Drift, the narrator seems to be dreaming of escape . The escape seems to be found in the "La Botanica and Market." Bonina describes the boy's blood as coming from a "hot country." She seems to separate the world that she lives from the idea of a "hot country," imagining that the nature and culture of that warm country will alleviate her winter stress. The poem suggests that the cold streets and the world that she lives in lack something. Ultimately, the most important aspect of a warm country's culture is the compassion of its people. The boy sees that the narrator is upset and expresses sympathy by hugging his own body. The narrator sees the boy as representative of an escape from the cold street; his warm personality ends her suffering.
By Alexandra O'hara
