evening news

Evening News
by David Ferry (p1048)

We have been there
..............................and seen nothing
Nothing has been there
..............................for us to see
In what a beautiful silence
..............................the death is inflicted
In a dazzling distance
..............................in the fresh dews
And morning lights
..............................how radiantly
In the glistening
..............................the village is wasted.
It is by such sights
..............................the eye is instructed

*... represent spaces

Ferry’s poem splits the voice and sight in this poem through the use of two columns. His voice appears to be on the right and leads the reader through what he views: a “wasted” village. The right column confirms what his voice has already explained and paints a picture for the reader’s eyes. The shape of the poem also looks like a step ladder with events deteriorating as it reaches the bottom. The poem starts innocently with “We have been there/ and seen nothing” and later on says “the village is wasted”.

Also, it is interesting that there are only two punctuation marks throughout the entire poem. He spends a large majority of the poem on the first sentence: the occurrence. Then finally the last two lines complete the second sentence: the lesson. I think Ferry is trying to say that we become swayed by what is fed to us through the media. We listen and digest with blind faith, often missing the small but important details.