Why Not Sneeze?
Why Not Sneeze? - meaning Summary
Ironic Complaint of Boredom
Ashbery addresses persistent, intrusive "dark days," asking them to leave and release the speaker from routine and dulled perception. Everyday images—a golf course, a magazine—stand for habitual life and stalled time. The poem mixes mild complaint with ironic self-awareness, registering boredom alongside a wish to wake up from repetitive, method-bound existence. The closing line collapses private mood into mediated, commonplace attention.
Read Complete AnalysesOh dark days and punctual always backing into our alley, feigning surprise for the umpteenth time: Why don't you just go away? Leave us to the land that binds us and itself to present methods. Leave the golf course simmering in light that has steeped too long. It's the same with us, dull on certain days. Wake up, you're looking at this magazine.
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