This poem by Philip Levine has a setting in New York at a St. George Hotel. It is a poem written to address the appearance of music in everyday life. Firstly, Levine describes in great detail what he believed the scenery was like back when the song that was playing on the radio was recorded. He describes the scenery such as the bright blue sky. Levine uses Simile multiple times throughout this poem. This can be seen, for instance, in lines 12-15 where Levine says, “Bird could have seen for miles if he’d looked, but what he saw was so foreign he clenched his eyes, shook his head, and barked like a dog…” Here Levine is describing a character in the song playing on the radio. He is imagining he is putting himself into the song and speaking to
