RECC: 2 LOVE POEMS
Jun. 9th, 2022 03:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
javainkHere are two poems that I've been coming back to recently and want to share.
The first is a Whitman poem; I've been trying to give him another chance, especially since I can't recall why I turned my nose up at his poetry in high school. Perhaps it had to do with how he romanticizes the working class but isn't of it himself? Something like that, which could be entirely wrong; my memories are fuzzy about what I learned. The second poem is one I read a year ago and couldn't wrap my brain around. I sat down with it a few months ago and dissected it, since it was nagging me. And once I did? I fell in love. Perfect for a love poem, huh?
I don't want to hype these two pieces up, but both poems make me go haywire.
+++
"When I Heard at the Close of the Day", by Walt Whitman
When I heard at the close of the day how my name had been receiv’d with plaudits in the capitol, still it was not a happy night for me that follow’d,
And else when I carous’d, or when my plans were accomplish’d, still I was not happy,
But the day when I rose at dawn from the bed of perfect health, refresh’d, singing, inhaling the ripe breath of autumn,
When I saw the full moon in the west grow pale and disappear in the morning light,
When I wander’d alone over the beach, and undressing bathed, laughing with the cool waters, and saw the sun rise,
And when I thought how my dear friend my lover was on his way coming, O then I was happy,
O then each breath tasted sweeter, and all that day my food nourish’d me more, and the beautiful day pass’d well,
And the next came with equal joy, and with the next at evening came my friend,
And that night while all was still I heard the waters roll slowly continually up the shores,
I heard the hissing rustle of the liquid and sands as directed to me whispering to congratulate me,
For the one I love most lay sleeping by me under the same cover in the cool night,
In the stillness in the autumn moonbeams his face was inclined toward me,
And his arm lay lightly around my breast — and that night I was happy.
. . .
ITS JUST—how the narrator is doing well in society, is accomplishing his goals, but it’s not those things that make him happy. He starts the poem with things that MIGHT and that people think “should” make him happy: the narrator is twisting expectations by saying he’s not happy and the congratulations for these accomplishments aren't welcome, feel empty.
This makes us the readers ask “okay what DOES make you happy?” And it's the opposite of those expectations. It's not society, it's nature, or so you think at first. Lines 3-5 leads us to this conclusion that nature brings him satisfaction, and it does, this is not a lie. It's Whitman, so you're like “okay yeah Cabin Man, I shoulda seen this coming—“ but BAM NO, after some build up in excitement, he reveals that that's not the whole picture. It’s his lover, it’s his man coming to visit, this is a love poem. And the poem is wrapped up in nature imagery in anticipation, putting forth how the world shines around him as he prepared for this visit. He finds joy in nature; lines 3-5 are not a false joy! But once he hears word that his lover is coming? That nature that brings him joy shines brighter, fills him fuller, is all the more pleasurable. And once his lover is with him, that’s what he wants applause and congrats for, that is his best accomplishment and satisfaction. And nature understands this, so nature congratulates him, and he welcomes the congratulations now, for his world feels whole.
*screeches in gooey emotion*
+++
"Soup Is One Form of Salt Water", by Heather Christle
I am making borscht please do not laugh at me I seem to have ruined my
soul the quality of television programming grows stronger all the time soon we
will live in the ocean we will all return to the ocean my hands are bright
pink like I have been applauding you for hours my love for you is louder than I
know I saw a show last night there were four thousand brides left in Iceland I
was laughing but it was not funny the brides looked embarrassed and cold I
must not wash anywhere but a tide pool I must use starfish to scrub at my
hands I am writing this to say I am not leaving you forever I am going to get
better and then I’ll come home
. . .
This isn't a mushy love poem, but it still moves me. The thing about reading this poem is this: every phrase threads into the next or recolors their neighbor. There's so much going on in here, and at first it read like nonsense to me. I had to draw a little diagram for myself to keep track of the topics and how they connect. I worry that I can't fully explain my thoughts on this poem, but still I want to try.
The threads: (1) food/love, (2) television, (2.1) brides, (2.2) ocean, (3) ruined soul, (4) admiration/love for partner, (5) "going to get better", (6) cleaning
I'm working under the assumption that the idea of returning to the ocean is something the speaker saw on television, simply because such an idea comes directly after the first mention of television, and it's such a strange idea! Not totally unheard of, of course, there's the common idea of humans coming and returning to dust, so how much farther is the ocean from dust? Both are ancient. But it feels out there, and with the speaker's goal of becoming better, watching television, and being this introspective, I assume they came to this idea through whatever else they were watching on TV.
So we start with the borscht, something the speaker is actively doing and we can assume is a new thing to attempt, since the next phrase says "please do not laugh at me". Here laughter is established as a mocking action. This second phrase also establishes the vulnerability of the speaker, leading into the next phrase introducing the concept of the speaker's ruined soul. I love this line because you could thread it back into the borscht: the speaker is cooking, so the borscht could be ruined too, but they jump straight into the soul, something else the speaker is working on. This quiet admission is the crux of the poem, as is the center of the poem, which is the line "my love for you is louder than I know". This speaker has determined that there is something wrong with themselves (see how they initially laughed at the humiliated brides on TV), but their admiration for their lover inspires them to reassess themselves. They see the world differently now, and want to change. They are trying something new. Cooking is creating sustenance for your body, taking care of yourself, and is associated with healing. The "bright pink" is from the beets, and the speaker links it to their lover, pink hands from clapping for so long: "like I have been applauding you for hours". Since their hands are pink, they must clean them, and cleaning is another action associated with healing/health.
And yet we go from "pink hands" -> lover -> television brides -> cleaning hands in ocean.
So why interrupt the pink hands/lover phrases with the 4,000 brides on television? It goes back to the "ruined my soul" concept. The laughing at the brides, turning to finding compassion for the brides, is an instance of not only the ruined soul, but of needing to cleanse yourself. Perhaps laughing at someone's plight isn't a total sin, but it does show a lack of empathy. So, the speaker is not only cleaning the beet juice off their hands, but their faults as well. The speaker is choosing compassion over the opportunity to mock. They are trying something new.
They are going on a journey to better themselves, returning alone to the ocean to cleanse themselves, going back to the start to try again.
This reminds me of the common romance trope where someone's love redeems you, which gets tiring and superficial in stories. But this poem is about someone putting in the work themselves—love is not a magic wand. It will not change who you are, but it can inspire you. It can open your eyes. So the speaker is separating themselves from their lover to focus on the speaker's values, and then they'll return.
"I am not leaving you forever/ I am going to get better/ and then I'll come home": It's the last stomp of the poem, and it's a banger whether you vibe with everything that comes before it or not. Just...
It's love, it's a love poem that is distancing itself from the love and yet every phrase cements & ties together how much that love means to the speaker.
I hope that all makes sense.
The first is a Whitman poem; I've been trying to give him another chance, especially since I can't recall why I turned my nose up at his poetry in high school. Perhaps it had to do with how he romanticizes the working class but isn't of it himself? Something like that, which could be entirely wrong; my memories are fuzzy about what I learned. The second poem is one I read a year ago and couldn't wrap my brain around. I sat down with it a few months ago and dissected it, since it was nagging me. And once I did? I fell in love. Perfect for a love poem, huh?
I don't want to hype these two pieces up, but both poems make me go haywire.
+++
"When I Heard at the Close of the Day", by Walt Whitman
When I heard at the close of the day how my name had been receiv’d with plaudits in the capitol, still it was not a happy night for me that follow’d,
And else when I carous’d, or when my plans were accomplish’d, still I was not happy,
But the day when I rose at dawn from the bed of perfect health, refresh’d, singing, inhaling the ripe breath of autumn,
When I saw the full moon in the west grow pale and disappear in the morning light,
When I wander’d alone over the beach, and undressing bathed, laughing with the cool waters, and saw the sun rise,
And when I thought how my dear friend my lover was on his way coming, O then I was happy,
O then each breath tasted sweeter, and all that day my food nourish’d me more, and the beautiful day pass’d well,
And the next came with equal joy, and with the next at evening came my friend,
And that night while all was still I heard the waters roll slowly continually up the shores,
I heard the hissing rustle of the liquid and sands as directed to me whispering to congratulate me,
For the one I love most lay sleeping by me under the same cover in the cool night,
In the stillness in the autumn moonbeams his face was inclined toward me,
And his arm lay lightly around my breast — and that night I was happy.
. . .
ITS JUST—how the narrator is doing well in society, is accomplishing his goals, but it’s not those things that make him happy. He starts the poem with things that MIGHT and that people think “should” make him happy: the narrator is twisting expectations by saying he’s not happy and the congratulations for these accomplishments aren't welcome, feel empty.
This makes us the readers ask “okay what DOES make you happy?” And it's the opposite of those expectations. It's not society, it's nature, or so you think at first. Lines 3-5 leads us to this conclusion that nature brings him satisfaction, and it does, this is not a lie. It's Whitman, so you're like “okay yeah Cabin Man, I shoulda seen this coming—“ but BAM NO, after some build up in excitement, he reveals that that's not the whole picture. It’s his lover, it’s his man coming to visit, this is a love poem. And the poem is wrapped up in nature imagery in anticipation, putting forth how the world shines around him as he prepared for this visit. He finds joy in nature; lines 3-5 are not a false joy! But once he hears word that his lover is coming? That nature that brings him joy shines brighter, fills him fuller, is all the more pleasurable. And once his lover is with him, that’s what he wants applause and congrats for, that is his best accomplishment and satisfaction. And nature understands this, so nature congratulates him, and he welcomes the congratulations now, for his world feels whole.
*screeches in gooey emotion*
+++
"Soup Is One Form of Salt Water", by Heather Christle
I am making borscht please do not laugh at me I seem to have ruined my
soul the quality of television programming grows stronger all the time soon we
will live in the ocean we will all return to the ocean my hands are bright
pink like I have been applauding you for hours my love for you is louder than I
know I saw a show last night there were four thousand brides left in Iceland I
was laughing but it was not funny the brides looked embarrassed and cold I
must not wash anywhere but a tide pool I must use starfish to scrub at my
hands I am writing this to say I am not leaving you forever I am going to get
better and then I’ll come home
. . .
This isn't a mushy love poem, but it still moves me. The thing about reading this poem is this: every phrase threads into the next or recolors their neighbor. There's so much going on in here, and at first it read like nonsense to me. I had to draw a little diagram for myself to keep track of the topics and how they connect. I worry that I can't fully explain my thoughts on this poem, but still I want to try.
The threads: (1) food/love, (2) television, (2.1) brides, (2.2) ocean, (3) ruined soul, (4) admiration/love for partner, (5) "going to get better", (6) cleaning
I'm working under the assumption that the idea of returning to the ocean is something the speaker saw on television, simply because such an idea comes directly after the first mention of television, and it's such a strange idea! Not totally unheard of, of course, there's the common idea of humans coming and returning to dust, so how much farther is the ocean from dust? Both are ancient. But it feels out there, and with the speaker's goal of becoming better, watching television, and being this introspective, I assume they came to this idea through whatever else they were watching on TV.
So we start with the borscht, something the speaker is actively doing and we can assume is a new thing to attempt, since the next phrase says "please do not laugh at me". Here laughter is established as a mocking action. This second phrase also establishes the vulnerability of the speaker, leading into the next phrase introducing the concept of the speaker's ruined soul. I love this line because you could thread it back into the borscht: the speaker is cooking, so the borscht could be ruined too, but they jump straight into the soul, something else the speaker is working on. This quiet admission is the crux of the poem, as is the center of the poem, which is the line "my love for you is louder than I know". This speaker has determined that there is something wrong with themselves (see how they initially laughed at the humiliated brides on TV), but their admiration for their lover inspires them to reassess themselves. They see the world differently now, and want to change. They are trying something new. Cooking is creating sustenance for your body, taking care of yourself, and is associated with healing. The "bright pink" is from the beets, and the speaker links it to their lover, pink hands from clapping for so long: "like I have been applauding you for hours". Since their hands are pink, they must clean them, and cleaning is another action associated with healing/health.
And yet we go from "pink hands" -> lover -> television brides -> cleaning hands in ocean.
So why interrupt the pink hands/lover phrases with the 4,000 brides on television? It goes back to the "ruined my soul" concept. The laughing at the brides, turning to finding compassion for the brides, is an instance of not only the ruined soul, but of needing to cleanse yourself. Perhaps laughing at someone's plight isn't a total sin, but it does show a lack of empathy. So, the speaker is not only cleaning the beet juice off their hands, but their faults as well. The speaker is choosing compassion over the opportunity to mock. They are trying something new.
They are going on a journey to better themselves, returning alone to the ocean to cleanse themselves, going back to the start to try again.
This reminds me of the common romance trope where someone's love redeems you, which gets tiring and superficial in stories. But this poem is about someone putting in the work themselves—love is not a magic wand. It will not change who you are, but it can inspire you. It can open your eyes. So the speaker is separating themselves from their lover to focus on the speaker's values, and then they'll return.
"I am not leaving you forever/ I am going to get better/ and then I'll come home": It's the last stomp of the poem, and it's a banger whether you vibe with everything that comes before it or not. Just...
It's love, it's a love poem that is distancing itself from the love and yet every phrase cements & ties together how much that love means to the speaker.
I hope that all makes sense.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-26 03:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-08-28 04:27 am (UTC)I'm glad you enjoyed it :D