Point of View

The poems collected in Goldenrod are written from a range of first and second person points of view. The reader might interpret these poetic voices as originating either from a network of speakers, or a single speaker assuming alternate stances depending upon the subject matter of the poem. Repeated references to two children, a dissolving marriage, a divorce, and a childhood in Ohio support the latter interpretation. The reader can, therefore, assume that this singular speaker bears a close relationship with the author herself, as she attempts to answer questions regarding birth versus death, the natural versus the synthetic, the known versus the incomprehensible.

In the poem, "Goldenrod," the speaker uses first person pronouns in order to interrogate her distorted relationship with the natural world. Because this is the title poem of the collection, the reader might rely upon it for clues to the other...