The Speaker

The speaker in "Still Life" observes the way that moonlight illuminates a group of addicts sleeping by a pond, causing them to resemble an amphibious flower. The speaker simultaneously engages in creative associative thinking while critiquing the way that society marginalizes this particular population. The social commentary appears in the final lines when the speaker asks, "Of what can you accuse them now, / beauty?" (7-8).

The Addicts

In her poem "Still Life," Katie Ford writes about a group of addicts sleeping by a pond. The state of being unsheltered exposes the addicts to a variety of dangers, from the elements to other humans or animals. The speaker likens the addicts to a rare amphibious flower called a strider, which exists "between, but needing, two worlds" (6). Similarly, the addicts exist in a liminal space on the margins of society. The speaker goes on to highlight the societal stigma...