In “Great Gullet Creek”, Laure-Anne Bosselaar employs images to vividly picture the physical realm of the Belgian countryside and her emotions. By “polders,” the author refers to low-lying pieces of land designed to prevent the flooding around potato plants. “Brood” refers to the act of being angry or unhappy. In the poem, the author personifies “old congruent clouds” by saying they return over polders and brood, while “congruent” relates to the harmonious and in-agreement. “Froth” are the bubbles formed in a liquid caused by some disturbance. “Forlorn” is the state of being abandoned and lonely, while “muskrats” is medium-large-sized rats and mice (Bosselaar).
In the first five stanzas, the author paints the picture of the weather and generally sets the tone of the following lines. The poem occurs during the Christmas period, in 1949, and in January since the author writes, “January chews my cheeks” (Bosselaar). The place is most likely Belgian countryside as the author refers to “Flemish winds” (Bosselaar), and specifically the “village of Kieldrecht”. The poem’s speaker is a six-year-old child from the city visiting a farmer in the countryside. The “oldest farmer” is most likely a religious person since he kisses a “small cross from his vest” (Bosselaar). The oldest farmer also takes care of and protects the speaker of the poem.
My favorite sensory detail is in the line “open the door to a wind sharp as nettles” (Bosselaar). The author refers to nettles to show the stinging nature of the wind. The poem’s subject is the narrative of a little girl experiencing the “anger of Flemish winds” in the countryside (Bosselaar). The poem’s tone is partly gloomy and partly warm. Gloom is due to poor weather and the absence of the speaker’s parents on Christmas, and warmth is due to the farmer’s care and friendly cafe, sweet fruits, and stove. I enjoyed the poem since, through vivid imagery, the author enables the reader to experience a part of Belgium. The author also presents images of the physical world to convey the speaker’s emotions and moods (Meyer and Miller 420). Thus, while using simple words, the poem made me feel that I have skated with the characters over the “Great Gullet Creek”.
Works Cited
Bosselaar, Laure-Anne. “Great Gullet Creek.”Web del Sol, 2001.
Meyer, Michael, and D. Quentin Miller. Literature to Go. 4th ed., Bedford/St. Martins, 2020.