Noticing the Details

Margaret Avison chooses her words very carefully in her poems. This allows the reader to analyze them and uncover the hidden message she is trying to imply. My viewpoint on the title “Always Now,” is that she is suggesting us to slow down, take a deep breath, and stop worrying about what is next in life. She is telling her readers to prolong the present tense to the point where the future is so distant, it is not even worth considering.

Reading “Cement Worker on a Hot Day” (19), this message I think she is implying is magnified by her use of vocabulary. “Yellow,” “sun,” “stops,” and “yield” are all words that really standout and evidence her intentions of this poem. When it comes to traffic signs in North America, the yield sign indicates that a driver of the vehicle must slow down and prepare to stop if necessary. They do not need to stop if there is no reason to. It is so easy to rush through life without savoring each moment. It is so easy to walk right past a dandelion on the side of the road, or even to walk past trees blowing in the wind without taking the time to see how beautiful nature is. We take advantage of running water every day, and its not until it is unavailable, that we begin to appreciate it. Margaret Avison is trying to tell us not to wait until the extreme before we stop and see the loveliness of the world we live in.

Believe it or not, the life of a cement worker involves many risks. When cement is spilled on the skin it must be brushed away in a particulate matter, then flushed with massive amounts of water. Wet cement can produce third degree alkali burns in less than 2 hours so the need for water immediately after the accident is necessary to eliminate pain and permanent damage. This is why the man suddenly stops and “wrenches the hydrant till it yields a gush for him to gulp and wash in.” If he didn’t need water at that moment in time, he never would have acknowledged the hydrant or been thankful and “wowed” of its presence.

Margaret writes how she’s “passed this yellow hydrant in sun and sleet, at dusk,” and how the hydrant “was always there, but now” she acknowledges its presence because she now sees the necessity of it after watching the cement worker. Life is so much more fascinating when you notice the details and that is what I think the essential message of this poem is.