I watch him set up easel,

Both straddling precariously

A corner of the twisted, climbing

Mountain track

A tireless humming-bird, his brush

Dips, darts, hovers now here, now there,

Where puddles of pigment

Bloom in the palette’s wild small garden.

The mountains pose for him

In a family group

Dignified, self-conscious, against the wide

blue screen

Of morning; low green foot-hills

Sprawl like grandchildren about the knees

Of seated elders. And behind them, aloof,

Shouldering the sky, patriarchal in

serenity,

Blue Mountain Peak bulks.

And the professional gaze

Studies positions, impatiently waiting

For the perfect moment to fix

Their preparedness, to confine them

For the pleasant formality

Of the family album.

His brush a humming-bird

Meticulously poised…

The little hills fidgeting,

Changelessly changing,

Artlessly frustrating

The painter’s art.

Summary

The poet admires the Jamaican landscape painter Albert Huie, and his painting process. His admiration is clear as he speaks to the poet’s method as he captures the scenery. He personifies the landscape it gets ready to be painted. The poem is a dedication, and this is clear in the title.

Analysis

Stanza 1 starts with the poet admiring the way that the painter sets up his easel. He is in awe and uses the word straddling for different reasons. The word straddle would suggest that the painter is sitting or standing with one leg on either side. But it is not just the painter who is “straddling”. The poet extends this to the easel and introduces the first use of personification. This use of the word is further combined using precariously which adds some element of danger to the way that the poet shifts from the calm of setting up the easel to the danger of the painter “straddling precariously” because he aims at immortalizing the mountains on this twisted path. The easel is set to cover a part of the mountain, “straddling precariously” which indicates that there is free will and freeness of painting as well the tone of the poem itself. The word straddle could also be comparing the mountain to a horse and therefore the painter has positioned himself with his easel to take control of the painting and to direct the outcome. He is the master of his craft just as he is the master “climbing” or progressing through the Mountain track” or his painting.

Stanza 2 shows the poet condensing the tone of the environment in the poem. He speaks to the hummingbird which is a National symbol for Jamaica and which, like the Blue Mountain holds historical values. The hummingbird has the unique ability to fly backwards and hover. This is ideal in describing the painter’s skills with his brush. One can use this kinesthetic imagery to appreciate the swift movements of the painter as well as his possible pause to reflect on his landscape. Hence, the paintbrush becomes the hummingbird and this willpower brings life into the art that the painter creates. The humming bird is tireless and so too is the brush as it “dips, darts, hovers now here” (perhaps in concentration.) These short words also adds to the speed with which the painter paints while “hover” shows that the painter pauses or lingers over a stroke or two.

Lines 7 and 8 continue to connect nature and the painter. The poet uses metaphors and visual imagery to connect the paint brush to the landscape he is painting. The “palette wild small garden” reiterates the ways in which the paints bring the landscape to life on canvas. In addition, he alludes to nature in the “puddles of pigment”. This too can be seen as a hyperbole because the paint that is used is not as large as a puddle of rain that falls in nature and yet the poet uses this device to connect the natural landscape to the tools that the painter uses. The paint on the palette helps to transform the canvas and bring the lifelike landscape to the painter’s brush.   

Stanza 3 personifies the landscape and gives the mood of wonder and originality to the poem. But this could also be that the painter is in control of his craft, and it seems like the mountains are working with him to create the ease with which he works. The poet describes the mountains as “Dignified, self-conscious, against the wide blue screen” which shows the value of the mountains in the painting against the sky. This also shows the authority of the mountains as the Blue Mountains stand as dignified representations of Jamaica’s history. The poet examines the hills and refers to them as grandchildren at the knees of the hill because the mountains are smaller and have a long way to get to the size of the mountains. The Blue Mountain Peak is behind them, the highest point in Jamaica. The line “Shouldering the sky” creates the image of how high the peak is.

In Stanza 4, the poet says: “And the professional gaze studies positions, impatiently waiting for the perfect moment to fix,” the painter is now getting ready to paint the mountains and the readers see the careful way that the painter captures the perfect scene. He is fixated on his work.

            The poet uses personification to show the mountains as the painter prepares “to confine them for the pleasant formality off the family album.” The poet puts the mountains together to create the imagery of them and their readiness to be painted on canvas. The painting is not an actual album, but the poet uses a metaphor to show that they are fixed on the canvas like an album.

In Stanza 5, the poet notes that: “His brush a humming-bird meticulously poised.” This line is repeated and serves to tie the poem together. It also shows the reader the swift movement and precision of the skilled painter. The hummingbird although it is a quick bird keeps its balance. Hence, one could accept that the painter keeps balance with his brushstrokes as well as the picture he is painting. The bird also represents the national symbol of the poet’s homeland. Therefore, the imagery of the painter’s adept movements represents not only the beautiful bird but also the beautiful mountainside in the country. “The little hills fidgeting” contrasts with the “meticulously poised” brush that shifts slightly but does not detract from the painter’s careful strokes. The hills are seen as the grandchildren and as children who will keep moving around but the reality is that the hills do not move… they are stationary.

Figurative Devices

Simile:

“… low green foot-hills/ sprawl like Grandchildren about the knees/ of seated elders”

Imagery:

“On corner of the Twisted climbing mountain track”

“dips, darts, now here, now there”

“…Puzzles of pigment bloom in the pallets wild small garden”

Metaphor :

“ tireless hummingbird, his brush”

Personification :

“ the mountains pose for him”

“The little Hills fidgeting”

“sprawl like grandchildren about the knees”

Themes

Nature

Places

Art