Reading Response 3: Kooser

Now, I have never been a big fan of poetry, but the whole point of creative writing, at least in my opinion, is to purposefully encounter and master a wide range of literary techniques and styles and to enrich your writing through your newly gained knowledge. Having said that, I decided to take a shot at analyzing "Tattoo", a poem by Ted Kooser which deals exclusively with the impression that a tattoo can give off based on the setting and character to whom the tattoo belongs.

The very first line of this poem establishes that the present situation of the tattoo is different than that of the past. "What once was meant to be a statement", Kooser writes, "is now just a bruise on a bony old shoulder." Here, without directly telling the readers that the recipient of the tattoo is an old man, the connotation of a "bony shoulder" implies a man who has withered with age. Typically when you grow old, you lose a lot of muscle mass and this use of imagery in the poem highlights this aspect of aging. Next, Kooser writes "he looks like someone you had to reckon with, strong as a stallion, fast and ornery.." The descriptions that follow show the deterioration of this man's once dominant character: "but on this chilly morning, as he walks between the tables at a yard sale with the sleeves of his tight black t-shirt rolled up to show us who he was.." Here, we get the sense that this man still craves the social authority he had in the past. Furthermore, the setting in this case, the yard sale, is typically associated with the elderly which really drives the point home: this man is no longer who he once was.

Kooser ends the poem with "his heart gone soft and blue with stories." This line shows the transformation that the man has gone through; he was once a tough, bold "stallion" but now he is just another old man who is "soft" and who has many stories to tell. This juxtaposition of the old man and the tattoo demonstrates the extent to which aging can change people and I believe that to be Kooser's main point.