he qualities of postmodern poets as outlined by Helen Vendler, but by also not infusing them into his work, shows the bilateral existence of present poetry and a bewildered poet's view on a world with little expectations of it.
             "Spring Cries" perhaps offers the best paradigm for Ashbery's notion of the poet in the 20th century. The poem itself is fraught with instances of duality and opposition. It begins, "Our worst fears are realized. Then a string of successes, or failures, follows. She pleads with us to stay: "Stay, just for a minute, can't you?" (Ashbery 1-4). In so many instances of Ashbery's poetry, he mentions seemingly opposing circumstances. The first two lines show "successes" and "failures," contrasting ideas that convey the strains of postmodern poetry. "Our worst fears," possibly the realization that poetry has changed and is changing. The old era calls, "Stay, just for a minute," to no avail. Not only is there a conflict between the actual language, but also between the eras of poetry.
             The second stanza begins, "We are expelled into the dust of our decisions Knowing it would be this way hasn't made any of it easier to understand, or bear" (Ashbery 5-7). Again there
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