"One Train May Hide Another"

One characteristic of the New York School poets is their description of unusual objects or subjects one after the other.  I think Kenneth Koch’s poem, “One Train May Hide Another” is a perfect example of this trait.  In the fist line he states, “In a poem, one line may hide another line.”  This is the first description of how one thing may hide another.  Throughout the poem he lifts different kind of things that may hide themselves such how “One evening may hide another,” (29) just as “…In the/ Garden of Eden/ Adam and Eve may hide the real Adam and Eve” (47-49).  Each line introduces a new, unlikely element that does not seem connected to the previous item.  I have read this poem many times, and I am not sure what the meaning behind these juxtapositions it, but the lyrical quality that is reinforced in my mind when I listen to Koch read it creates a calm tone and I enjoy reading it.  I think just like some of the other poems we’ve read for this week their might not be a deeper meaning to unravel, and if there is, I am perfectly happy just reading this poem for enjoyment, rather than picking it apart. 

Go here to listen to the recording yourself!  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15592