Paradoxes and Oxymorons, by John Ashbery: Review/Response

In Paradoxes and Oxymorons, I get the sense that the speaker wants "this poem" to reach out or make a connection with this "you" that the speaker refers to a lot in the poem, "Look at it talking to you." It seems as if the speaker wants to connect with this "you" (a woman I guess) through a poem he wrote, and at the same time, the speaker talks abut what goes into "play" when writing a poem. He mentions, "This poem is concerned with language on a very plain level," which brings me to ask the same question that is in the poem, "What's a plain level?" What does he mean by "plain level?" I think he's talking about the poem being many things, but he has to develop a system to make it work, to make it come into "play," such as an outside force, kind of surreal, "dreamed role-pattern" that influences and/or inspires him to write this poem, "To tease me into doing it." He has written a poem for this woman (his inspiration) so he could connect with her and be on her level. But she doesn't seem to appreciate this poem he wrote. She doesn't even pay attention to it--she's gone.

At the end of the poem, the speaker seems to realize that it doesn't matter if she's not there with him because this poem that he wrote about her brings him closer to her. "The poem is you," and feels that he finally made a connection.

I noticed how Ashbery utilizes oxymorons in his poem (well, it is part of the title), such as, "Open-ended," is he talking about the poem, or the outside influence? I think he's talking about the poem...or both being in connection with each other. This makes me feel as if I'm not getting an opportunity to glance at a poem before it ends. Now, what does the speaker mean by his? Why wouldn't anyone have the chance to even look at one's poems? I get the feeling that maybe he's trying to say that one may have an idea for a poem, but suddenly one forgets about it, and now it's gone--out of our reach.

Also, Ashbery uses very long lines in this poem (in most of his poems). The long lines in this poem make me feel as if each line is taking me through an experience a long one. It reminds me of the adventure that I go through when writing a poem. Every poem takes me through a whole new experience-a different kind of ride. First, I get an idea, usually from an outside source that inspires me to write a poem. Then, I start writing and try to develop a system--a technique in which all the words in the poem should somehow connect with each other--come into play. Sounds easy, but it's not. It's a pain in the behind trying to make sense sometimes, but there's other times when the form, the stanzas, the line breaks, the subject and etc., etc. just flow naturally...like magic.

After reading this poem several times, I came up with another reading of it. I think that the "you" that the speaker is talking about might not always be a woman. In the first three stanzas, I think the "you" he refers to is a writer who's trying to create a poem, trying to make a connection between him (the writer) and the blank paper, "The poem is sad because it wants to be yours..." The speaker is talking about the writer trying to write a poem, but he's unable to write anything..."writer's block?" It seems as if the speaker is saying that the poem is in the air, or in his (the writer's) imagination somewhere, "You have it but you don't have it," it's a matter of getting a hold of it, and get it down on paper.

In the last stanza, the speaker gets personal and here it is where I think he's actually talking about a woman when he mentions "you." And the rest is what I have mentioned earlier.

On a different note, I really liked the rhythm in the first stanza. The repetition of the following words: "you," "have," "it" and "miss" gives the poem a nice rhythm.