Martinelli is a Seattle-based freelance writer and editor. In this essay, Martinelli examines how Hahn uses homonyms in her poem to examine the pleasures and pains of love and relationships.

The poem “Pine” appears in Hahn's collection Mosquito and Ant (1999). The work takes on a strange form, with the poem broken into eight parts, separated by roman numerals. Although the poetic form is of great interest, it is the use of homonyms that is the most intriguing with regard to the exploration of the poem's subject matter: love. In “Pine,” Hahn looks at the ups and downs of relationships, love, and the inevitable risks that ensue when two individuals engage one another. The poem relies heavily upon trees to establish a metaphor about love and the personal struggle that accompanies the pursuit of love. In beautiful language, Hahn uses homonyms related to evergreen trees to deliver a...