Brass Furnace Going Out
by Diane Di Prima
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At a glance:
- Author: Diane Di Prima
- First Published: 1975
- Type of Poem: Ode
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry, Ode
- Subjects: Children, Mothers, Parents and children, Guilt, Dreams, Death or dying, Abortion, Childbirth, Infants, Bereavement or grief, Life and death
The Poem
“Brass Furnace Going Out,” subtitled “Song, After an Abortion,” is a direct address by the poet to the spirit of an aborted baby who functions as a comforting, though haunting, presence throughout the work. It consists of twelve irregular sections written in variants of open verse ranging from three to forty-three lines. In categorizing it as a “Song,” Diane di Prima is using the term in the classical sense of an ode—a song composed for performance at a public occasion. Her intention is to take a private struggle and make it accessible to a large audience....
(The entire page is 1644 words.)
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