Poetry Explication The Tally Stick By Jarold Ramsey
In “The Tally Stick,” Ramsey suggests that love is an enduring partnership through his use of symbolism, tactile imagery, but with a subtle tone of resentment. “The Tally Stick” describes love as being a long-term, lasting relationship between two individuals. The entire poem establishes a relation between the couple and a stick. The stick contains engraved “notches” (l. ... “Here from the start, from our first of days, look: / I have carved our lives in secret on this stick . ... It could be that he/she is physically carving the stick, or maybe just describing the secret love life shared between the couple. There the stick becomes a symbol.