A Fragment of Gioia
Not enough to convince, but hopefully enough to entice--
from "Prayer" Dana GioiaJeweller of the spiderweb, connoisseur
of autumn's opulence, blade of lightning
harvesting the sky.Keeper of the small gate, choreographer
of entrances and exits, midnight
whisper travelling the wires.
This portion of the poem is a catalogue poem to itself. In a catalogue one simply lists attributes or things related to the subject of the poem. The purpose of a catalogue is to suggest without telling. In a true imagist catalogue, one attempts to record all of the attributes as objectively as possible while still making clear how one feels about the object. It is the selection of the details or items in the catalogue that makes the feeling. In this poem an introductory catalogue is held in tension with the actual petition of the prayer. In such a way we are allowed a glimpse of both sides of the poet's approach to God.
