I need some help interpreting a poem.

[Yet_Another_Boring_Marxist]

I have to write a poetry analysis for my AP lit class and I'm having a wee bit of trouble. Here's the poem:

The toadstools are starting to come up,
circular and dry.
Nothing will touch them,
Gophers or chipmunks, wasps or swallows.
They glow in the twilight like rooted will-o’-the-wisps.
Nothing will touch them.
As though little roundabouts from the bunched unburiable,
Powers, dominions,
As though orphans rode herd in the short grass,
as though they had heard the call,
They will always be with us,
transcenders of the world.
Someone will try to stick his beak into their otherworldly styrofoam.
Someone may try to taste a taste of forever.
For some it’s a refuge, for some a shady place to fall down.
Grief is a floating barge-boat,
who knows where it’s going to moor?


Now here are the two lines that I'm having trouble with.

"They glow in the twilight like rooted will-o’-the-wisps."

And

"As though little roundabouts from the bunched unburiable,"

If some one could help me interpret those lines I'd be grateful. Also any other interpretations are appreciated.

[Hermes]

Poetry has never really been my strong suit, but if I had to guess, I would say that "They glow in the twilight like rooted will-o’-the-wisps. / Nothing will touch them." emphasizes the attraction they cause. Will o' the wisps were essentially lights that would continually draw people further into danger, but these are rooted into the ground (yet no one touches them).

To me, at least, they represent the power/wealth/etc that is in plain sight of everyone, but is avoided due to external reasons (morality, etc).

Again, though, poetry isn't my strong suit so take with a grain of salt. As for the second, I'm not sure.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I have to write a poetry analysis for my AP lit class and I'm having a wee bit of trouble. Here's the poem:

The toadstools are starting to come up,
circular and dry.
Nothing will touch them,
Gophers or chipmunks, wasps or swallows.
They glow in the twilight like rooted will-o’-the-wisps.
Nothing will touch them.
As though little roundabouts from the bunched unburiable,
Powers, dominions,
As though orphans rode herd in the short grass,
as though they had heard the call,
They will always be with us,
transcenders of the world.
Someone will try to stick his beak into their otherworldly styrofoam.
Someone may try to taste a taste of forever.
For some it’s a refuge, for some a shady place to fall down.
Grief is a floating barge-boat,
who knows where it’s going to moor?


Now here are the two lines that I'm having trouble with.

"They glow in the twilight like rooted will-o’-the-wisps."

And

"As though little roundabouts from the bunched unburiable,"

If some one could help me interpret those lines I'd be grateful. Also any other interpretations are appreciated.

Hmm, I've never been much for poetry either, but I can give some of my impressions here. I guess the poem seems to express a sort of somber existential angst/fascination/attraction to me. A grief that floats to the surface in the "in-between" places and times - sort of poisionous but also attractive and inviting.

"They glow in the twilight like rooted will-o’-the-wisps." So these toadstools, sort of things between two places ("transcenders of the world" and "twilight"), floating on the surface, "glow" as in invite the musings of the author. Very ghostly in imagry.

"As though little roundabouts from the bunched unburiable," here again is a sort of idea of "passing through" places - a roundabout - unburiable (as well as "grief" later) invokes death and loss - unburiable as in a sense of loss that "floats" to the surface, a ghost who enters out world seemingly of its own will.