Comment on the interesting use of punctuation in the poem "The Flower-fed Buffaloes."Mainly in lines 4 and 12.

Line 4 ends with a semicolon. Semicolons can be used to
join two independent clauses. In this case, lines 1-4 are joined to lines 5-8. The first
four lines describe the changes of the landscape; the buffaloes used to roam where the
trains now sing. Lines 5-8 add to the description of that
landscape.

Line 12 ends with a colon. Colons are usually
followed by a list or example that is related to the clause before it. Lindsay repeats
that the buffalo are gone with the amendment that some remnants of the past remain. The
buffalo are gone but the Blackfeet and Pawnees (like the prairie flowers) “lie
low.”

Lindsay uses the semicolon to join two similar but
independent clauses. He uses a colon rather than a semicolon in line 12 because he’s not
just comparing two clauses. He wants to emphasize that some things are gone but some
things still remain. This poem is about nostalgia but also hope in the future. The train
“sings” and the buffalo “bellow.” This connotes nostalgia for the past but an optimistic
look at the future. His point stands out more with a colon than with a semicolon or a
dash. The buffalo are gone and the landscape has changed: but the Blackfeet and Pawnees
still lie low.