Country Stars

Country Stars
William Meredith

The near sighted child has taken off her glasses
and come downstairs to be kissed goodnight
She blows on a black windowpane until it's white
Over the apple trees a great bear passes
but she puts her own construction on the night.

Two cities, a chemical plant, and clotted cars
breathe our distrust of darkness on the air,
clouding the pane between us and the stars.
But have no fear, or only proper fear:
the bright watchers are still there.

The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry Page 115

I appreciate the effect Meredith's poem initially had upon me. At first it seemed to me like a poem in which a dream is captured due the first stanza in which he discusses a child being kissed goodnight. Furthermore, initially the line "over the apple trees a great bear passes" adds to the "dream-like" sense. However, after continuing further, it is clear that Meredith is addresses the stars or "bright watchers" as he calls them. In addressing the stars it seemed to me as though he discusses how surrounding buildings and suburban life has helped create a "pane between us and the stars." It is this idea that helped me to connect with this poem in that many of us today are surrounded by factors that inhibit us to see the stars.
Meredith's diction helped create an image within my mind as I read the poem. The line, "two cities, a chemical plant, and clotted cars" helped produce an image of suburban life, filled with radiating lights, obscuring the faint light of stars. In addition, Meredith starts off with a simple line, one that has a clear meaning, then moves into more complex lines with abstract meanings. An example of a line that I found difficult to understand was: "over the apple trees a great bear passes."