An Explaining of Caption of Ignorance of the Law is No Excuse by John Ashbery

(By Chi Keung Tang in the morning of 1.1.2021)

This poem is about ware, aware and unaware of surrealistic poem.

"Ignorance" is unaware of something while "warned" is aware of something. Law is principles of behavior. The collage of Behavior can be things of Be, Have and Or.

"No" means "very little" here. "Very" directs us to exact, ex-act implies ex-strike. Little is some extent. Some means amazing, not a few and extent are ex-standing from under.

Excuse is expression of regret . Regret is bemoan which perhaps is similar to being, similar word of extent.

In sum, ignorance of the law is no excuse means:

To unaware of principles of be, have and or is to strike the amazing extent or beings.

John Ashbery has some poems which talk about surrealitic poem e.g. The room, some trees, alms for the beekeepers and maybe this one, too.

Once you discern the direction of his reeving or cleaving of the poem, you may have fluke to recollect and disclose the poem from your mind.

Ignorance of the Law Is No Excuse
John Ashbery

We were warned about spiders, and the occasional famine.

We drove downtown to see our neighbors. None of them were home.

We nestled in yards the municipality had created,
reminisced about other, different places—
but were they?

Hadn’t we known it all before?
In vineyards where the bee’s hymn drowns the monotony,

we slept for peace, joining in the great run.
He came up to me.
It was all as it had been,
except for the weight of the present,
that scuttled the pact

we made with heaven.
In truth there was no cause for rejoicing,
nor need to turn around, either.

We were lost just by standing,
listening to the hum of wires overhead.

We mourned that meritocracy which, wildly vibrant,
had kept food on the table and milk in the glass.
In skid-row, slapdash style

we walked back to the original rock crystal he had become,
all concern, all fears for us.

We went down gently
to the bottom-most step. There you can grieve and breathe,
rinse your possessions in the chilly spring.

Only beware the bears and wolves that frequent it
and the shadow that comes when you expect dawn.