The word Allen writes, is a sonic phenomenon. Sonic is a carefully constructed work. A certain melody threads its way throughout. In these eary poems of mind the urban is both subterfuge and a thing from which to escape. What Gordon Michael Allen is saying is not necessarily new, but it is necessary and it is said with certain beauty.
Aesthetic argument becomes social commentary.
I see a consistency of vision here. Sonic s quietly accomplished message seems to be that it is necessary to experience the wilderness of the mind within the city throng. This poetry is of solitude and introspection within the urban. But the urban is not ignored. This is not escapism, but resurrection.