MIT Reads discussion

Ready to take stock

This will be a discussion about "Inventory for Spring" (link out to poem) by Wendy Xu from the February 2017 issue of Poetry.

Spring has sprung, and we're all seeing it from the relative comfort of our own homes while everything still feels more like winter than ever. Frustrated and over-extended, it's nearly impossible to engage with all that is happening as it happens. Though this poem was written in 2017, it feels apropros for this moment in time.

The speaker of this poem shares their feelings of frustration and detachment during a season that usually represents new beginnings. Why do you think they feel this way? How do you relate to the speaker? How does spring feel different now that many of us are experiencing it alone and/or indoors? What are your expectations of spring and how do those expectations compare to your reality right now?

What questions or thoughts do you have?

This poem is spot-on for me and how I'm feeling this spring, from the first line "feeling rich for one moment..." to the last "feeling antisocial for declining further missives from home." Framed within the pandemic, "feeling antisocial" is what many of us might feel as a result of social distancing. Even the term "social distancing" has a negative connotation to it. I think this speaker does not want to decline invitations to be social, but the situation warrants self-isolation instead.

Spring signals renewal, warm weather, and more outdoor social gatherings. It is likely that many of us will not be experiencing spring in the ways we prefer or have in the past. In the same way, there is dissonance in the feelings Xu describes as an "Inventory for Spring."

So far, April has been rainy and overcast here in Boston, so that at least feels appropriate! (But really, some sunshine would be nice.)