Wedding, Ring, & a Poem

In the poem by Lynne McMahon titled, “Wedding Ring”, brought more attention to me because of the different things it includes. This poem has italicized words, parenthesis, comparisons, questions, dashes, and words I haven’t seen before. Lynne McMahon kept her poem interesting from the first line to the last. She talks about what is exactly mentioned in the title. She talks about a wedding ring, the meaning of the ring in her perspective and what happened when she encountered the ring herself.

Lynne McMahon starts a comparison in the first stanza so it automatically grabs your attention. She talks of,

 “silver hands clasping a rounded heart,

an apple,

 I mistakenly thought,

topped by a crown” (Line 4-6).

When she talks about silver hands clasping she is referring to the color of the rings. Then she says the silver hands are clasping a rounded heart that describes how the rings are something that represent soothing so strong to hold a heart or love feeling. The next lines bring up an apple and crown. She says that she misread the heart and ring to an apple with a crown. This starts to bring up questions about if she knows what the representation of a wedding ring is and what it really means involving love. Since she mistakenly thought the heart and ring to be an apple with a crown it gives the reader a sense of that she is new to love.

The second stanza has to be the most difficult for me while reading the poem. It includes the words pomme, regnant, etymologies, and also the word wring. Even after I looked up what each word meant the stanza still had me curious and confused. She mentions of the word pomme being French which gave the poem interest and curiosity which made the reader want to look deeper into the poem.

The third stanza is longer than the rest and it is also the last so there is one full meaning going on. She mentions songs that make her think of memories that she describes as “sent bowling down the street”. When she says this phrase it means that she thinks of everything that has happened in the past. The memories pop back in her head. The memories aren’t only good memories though because she continues on of sudden wind and smoky trees with rain. The wind and trees making all the racket displays how there were problems, issues, and the kind of speed bumps you get in relationships. Then she says that they remind her of home. This is when the readers begin to question … Is it good to have fights and arguments? So are problems a good thing?

Lynne McMahon writes that yes maybe the sight of marriage or being with someone can be misread. That once with someone you will have your issues or problems or both but it makes up what a marriage is. When you put that wedding ring on that’s your marriage that you don’t let go and you commit to it just as she ends with.

“I never take it off” (line 31).

“Wedding Ring”

By: Lynne McMohan