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Hi Candice, I would have to admit that my irritation is more a matter of temperament more than any tuned critical analysis . . . I mean although I find myself glazing over when reading 'Yarrow', I can see there are interesting things afoot with this binary / triurinary (is that a word?? . . . looks rather suspicious . . .) tack. It's just that this tack strikes me as a tick, or a compulsive creative disorder -- it's as though he can never pick just one word but has to scour for possible variants. It doesn't appear to be a matter of 'balance' either, or an attempt at completion -- just an option. I just don't find these options interesting, somehow, within the context of the poems. I guess for the same reason I can't stomach improvisational jazz (and therefore, perhaps, Ashbery) . . . . what was it Blake said about figure-drawing? The power of the line, the boundary . . ? I guess I respond more to luminescence within limits, as opposed to divergencies, accumulations, and the mania for variations. Binaries, trinities -- the limits of religion I suppose. They usually create a current, though, a dynamism, which I can see from your description of Muldoon re: the family. I can't quite see the dynamic in 'stew or soup' though . . . this looks like a different kettle of fish. More like a dissipation of energy, in fact . . . a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth . . . . I'm enjoying your notes on Muldoon a great deal -- certainly presenting possibilities on how to approach his work . . . and making Holy Thursday a lot more interesting than it seemed initially . . . . Finally, borrowed chair -- having worked as a barman for 4 years, this makes sense. The chairs are for the customers, not the staff! Relationships alter dramatically once you step out of your role -- you regain your privacy, and autonomy, even when sitting down to grab a quick bite to eat mid-shift. Roles and relationships -- relevant to the couple in the poem also. The waiter who is no longer a waiter, but himself. The lovers who are no longer lovers, but themselves once more. Something like that. Andy %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%