4 An Ode to Consider
An Ode to Consider:
“In your eyes the flames of twilight fought on.
And the leaves fell on the water of your soul.”
Ode to the Onion by Pablo Neurda
Onion,
luminous flask,
your beauty formed
petal by petal,
crystal scales expanded you
and in the secrecy of the dark earth
your belly grew round with dew.
Under the earth
the miracle
happened
and when your clumsy
green stem appeared,
and your leaves were born
like swords
in the garden,
the earth heaped up her power
showing your naked transparency,
and as the remote sea
in lifting the breasts of Aphrodite
duplicating the magnolia,
so did the earth
make you,
onion
clear as a planet
and destined
to shine,
constant constellation,
round rose of water,
upon
the table
of the poor.
You make us cry without hurting us.
I have praised everything that exists,
but to me, onion, you are
more beautiful than a bird
of dazzling feathers,
heavenly globe, platinum goblet,
unmoving dance
of the snowy anemone
and the fragrance of the earth lives
in your crystalline nature.
Reflection:
What a delightful poem! Neruda’s “Ode to the Onion” is a favorite for sure. I must say that a really do love onions. Onions bring me joy - and so I feel a kinship to Neruda as he waxes on about this root. But I also love the way Neruda writes. I love how he dances from one word to the next, calling out the magnificence of such a common vegetable. He successfully juxtaposes its cosmic significance as a “constant constellation” with its inclusive availability “upon the table of the poor.” I like too, how the word “constellation” sounds like “consolation” - I think how the onion, for me, is such a consoling friend - always in my kitchen - constantly by my side. In my studies of the ode - I also was delighted to read of Aphrodite in this poem. He writes, “as the remote sea / in lifting the breasts of Aphrodite / duplicating the magnolia, / so did the earth / make you, / onion. Here, perhaps Neruda, as he is alluding to the goddess of love, is simultaneously alluding to one of the earliest odes, “Ode to Aphrodite” by Sappho and thus situating his work with the works of the ancient ones who praised gods and goddesses - and his point - that the onion is just as significant to the world, and just as divine, and deserves just as much praise. I agree. Do you have a vegetable that you would like to sing about? If you do, list it in the comments below and be sure to share why you like it so very much. Join me tomorrow and we can write an ode together! Until then - stay CHARMED.
Questions
What type of ode is this?
How many lines are in this poem?
Do you see any repeating words or phrase?
What imagery stands out to you?
Does the writer employ figurative language? If so, explain.
What is your interpretation of this poem?
How do the words make you feel?
Does this work inspire you in any way?