Reread the poems "End of April" and "End of August" by Heather Burns. End of April
"In an effort to become more like spring
She put on bright socks – fuchsia pink like the
Azaleas in the gardens she sought
Out often to escape what winter still
Kept lodged in her mind. For who would go to
A garden to worry? Wanting to blend
In more, she began to clothe herself with
Wisteria, honeysuckle, trumpet
Vines so the hummingbirds came to know her
As spring itself. Whatever remained
Of her winter evaporated and then
Rained down in homage. When clouds were broken
Open by the sun, she was gone – no one
Could say for sure what she used to look like."
End of August
"We gather at the place where history
Wounds our future and it’s too bad that the
Balance gets thrown off again and we fall
Like peaches out of a bag, tumbling to
Bruised stops on the countertop. Summer is
Really over. All of our desires for how
To best spend it we wrote on paper plates
In June, in parables that made us laugh.
The thistle has bloomed, scattered. Our hearts cracked
Open like thunderstorms that clustered on most
Afternoons in July. No grief draws a
Ring around us like the end of August.
Our focus must shift to a new season,
A new frontier of weather, land, and fruits."
Identify and explain characteristics of Romantic poetry and Realist poetry in these poems. Then explain what makes these poems contemporary.