heidi's response to Allie's poems

“1940” seems to be about a surprising discovery made in the basement of the speaker’s home. The first stanza makes me think that perhaps the speaker is talking about the Prohibition Era; but since that ended before 1940, I realized this is not the case. I am not sure what exactly this poem is about, but the descriptions are well done. I particularly enjoyed the lines “created before/ the mass-produced,/ (all-things-must-look-the-same)/ era” because they appear to be a subtle commentary on today’s culture. The difficulty that I had with this poem is that I am not sure what the point is that the poet is trying to make. There are good images that make it interesting to read, but I don’t quite understand it. Were it more specific and evident as to what the speaker intended the point to be, it would be a more powerful poem.
“Trial and Error” has a sensual feel about it and appears to deal with an unsteady relationship. Several of the images are quite evocative, such as “my black sundress smoldering,/ causing the air to become wicked,” which contributes to the strong sense of a physical attraction between the speaker and the person she’s talking about. As with the other poem, however, I am not sure I get exactly what the poem is about. I very much like the images and use of language, but it seems contradictory and unclear. One example of this is in the first stanza when the speaker says “I knew we were destined to/ be strangers,/ when I could smell/ your smell/ even away from you.” Another example is in the last stanza: “But I couldn’t wait until winter/ …The summer months are much too short.” This causes ambiguity and does not make clear what the author is trying to communicate.