How does the poet explore the passing of time in ‘The Flower-Fed Buffaloes’?
Remember to support your ideas with details from the writing.
Analyze the effects, suggested or associated ideas implied by the writer’s language choices.
Develop and sustain your personal response (relevant, detailed, perceptive)
Stay focused on the question
The poet explores the passing of time in the poem by showing the changing images, verb tenses, and
evocative language that suggests the loss of life from the past. The poem feels both nostalgic and
sorrowful to me because of what has been lost.
In the first section, the poet refers to time by pointing out “The flower-fed buffaloes of spring.”
“Spring” is the time of new beginnings when the flowers bloom and nature is reborn after the winter.
This image gives me the impression that the buffalo are gentle and innocent like children because they
eat “flowers.” The alliteration of the soft sound /f/ also suggests gentleness and ease. The focus on time
changes in the second line with the phrase “long ago” which tells us that these buffaloes were in the
past, not now. This is reinforced by the idea suggested in the whole line: “In the days of long ago.” The
reference reminds me of a legend that is retold over time and generations. The retold story gives the
past mythical qualities. The fact that these gentle, flower eating buffalo are not here anymore feels sad
to me. The change from past to present is emphasized in line 3 when the past tense verb “ranged”
describes the wide open spaces where the buffalo used to live. “Ranged” suggests freedom and power.
Yet this is in the past, and “the locomotives sing” here now. The present tense verb “sing” shows us the
“locomotives” have taken over and suggests their pride and happiness. “Sing” personifies the
locomotives which suggests they are now alive and dominating the prairie. This is disturbing because
“locomotives” are machines, made out of metal, and the sound they make is loud and harsh. As a result,
the “prairie flowers lie low” which makes me imagine something frightened, weak or injured. This
personifies the flowers as hiding from the industrial machines, the “locomotives,” which have now taken
over their former home. It makes me think that nature is sad and powerless over what is happening
during this time.
The concept of time passing and things being lost is continued in the second section of the poem. In
line 5, nature is again personified in the image “tossing, blooming, perfumed grass.” The sensory image
appeals to both our visual and sense of smell. I can imaging the grass dancing as it is “tossing,” and
“blooming” suggest vibrant life and beauty, and “perfumed” suggests sweetness. I see this scene as
nature being full of happiness. However, the enjambment at the end of the line immediately connects
this beautiful image to the verb phrase “swept away.” The lively grass has been quickly, ruthlessly
removed as if it were dust or dirt. Furthermore, the sense of unstoppable movement is depicted in the
image “wheels and wheels and wheels spin.” The image of wheels spinning suggest continuous
movement. This sense of force is emphasized by the rhythm created by the repetition of “wheels and.”
The momentum is overwhelming anything in the path of the locomotive. This reminds me of the force
and ruthlessness of industrialization over the past centuries. The machines have far more power than
nature and the gentle buffalo. The next line says “the spring that is still sweet” is reassuring, but how
long will it last. The word “still” refers to time continuing, yet the soft sound of the sibilance /s/ does not
seem strong enough to me to hold off the forces of industrialization that are coming. This adds to my
sense of impending loss over time.
The last section of the poem describes the finality of the things that have been lost with the passage of
time. The image from the first line of the poem is repeated with the contrasting word “But” beginning
the line which tells me something has completely changed. In fact, the next line changes from “In the
days of long age” (line 2) to “Left us, long ago.” The emphasis is on the first word “left” shows me the
time of innocence and beauty of the buffalo is gone and in the distant past. This line feels heavy with
sadness to me, as if we have been abandoned. The poet emphasizes the loss by repeating the absolute
negative phrase “no more” three times in lines 11 and 12. The buffaloes’ past life, as depicted by the
active verbs “gore,” “bellow,’ and “trundle,” is permanently over. The three negatives make it clear the
loss is complete. The juxtaposition of the buffaloes’ past active life and their absolute lack of life in the
present makes me think of species extinction. This makes me angry at the carelessness of human
expansion into nature. My feeling of sadness is intensified by the final image which is repeated three
times “lying low.” The image makes me think of someone lying stretched out on a sick bed or a corpse
lying in a grave. In addition, the long mournful /o/ sound from “ago” (l. 10), “no” (ll. 11 and 12) is
repeated three times in “low” (ll. 13 and 14). It sounds to me like an extended expression of grief, regret
and wow. The “lie low” image of the “flowers” hiding in line 3 feels more sinister and disturbing in the
final, two word line: “Lying low.” The shortness of the line connotes the ending of life cut short. I want
to reach back across time, and restore these lost elements of nature.
The poems shows me how the passage of time, from the past to the present has devastated the native
prairie and its inhabitants. It makes me think about all the other animals, native peoples and ecosystems
are being destroyed right now by humans expanding cities and agriculture. I feel worried and angry
about the effects we are having on our planet. We are thoughtlessly and aggressively pushing forward
like the “locomotives.”