To me Poetry is an expression, of time, place, space, and all of those within. Within time and space, revolves history, politics and people. In Totems the question is asked, "Do politics and arts mix?" and then goes on to say that we are taught not to approach politics in a place of anger, "traditionally, poetry has conveyed a healthy dose of anger and invective (which I had to look up, it means vehement, and a railing accusation.)" However, with as much rage there is, I also see a great deal of reconciliation, and acceptance, both of which are not a sign of defeat. It is with that contrast: Anger, and reconciliation, that the poem moves forward in a well rounded narrative way... Uprising, problem, climax, decent, reconciliation. In Poem (I lived in the First Century) by Muriel Rukeyser, she boldly says: "I lived in the first century of world wars." This struck me, because she does not outright say: world war I, or world war II. World wars, is a far rounder term, that seems to me, to be more inclusive than just the textbook wars we read about. It's about everyone. Everyone that lives through wars, and everyone who lives during a war is inadvertently affected by it. However, Rukeyser goes on to talk of newspapers who seem unfazed, and take the war to lightly.
The newspapers would arrive with their careless stories,
The news would pour out of various devices
Interrupted by attempts to sell products to the unseen.
It feels like, in my opinion, that she is expressing the ever crushing reality, that despite war, despite something so incomprehensible as war, there is always the economy, media, and the world outside that functions, as she clearly displays by saying: "Interrupted by attempts to sell products to the unseen." Even her language, makes me think of vast populations unfazed, moving through their days unaware, and ignorant to events around them.
Like I mentioned before, this poem has a great narrative structure to it. To find resolution, if from something like war, a semblance of reconciliation can even be made... we need each other, you, me... and all of those faceless, "unseen," people.
To construct peace, to make love, to reconcile
Waking with sleeping, ourselves, with each other,
Ourselves with ourselves. We would try by any means
To reach the limits of ourselves, to reach beyond ourselves
To let go the means, to wake.
I love how she almost calls upon people to go outside themselves, push limits to try to achieve peace and love. I mean, that is the ultimate goal, is it not? Isn't that the utopian society, world we wish to pursue? Wouldn't anything be worth that? To end, she proclaims once again that she has lived in the first century of these wars. Century is about a lifetime. A lifetime of war, but who hasn't lived without seeing some type of war. In that way, is this poem not universal? Does it not speak to everyone, and the "I" becomes, me, and you.
-Bluey, aka Michaela C. Ellis
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yes, go outside
ReplyDeletee
This is a strong post.
ReplyDeleteMichaela, I like how you remind us here that war affects all of us. I feel like sometimes the media wants us to forget that fact. They want us to say, "Oh, there is a war going on in the Middle East, but we are all fine and good at home." NOT...
ReplyDeleteSo I appreciate you reminding us that when there is war happening anywhere on this planet, it affects ALL of us regardless of background, race, nationality, etc. And because it affects us, we need to go outside ourselves, push limits, strive for peace, radiate love, etc, etc, etc.
I think you picked the perfect section of that poem to start with:
The newspapers would arrive with their careless stories,
The news would pour out of various devices
Interrupted by attempts to sell products to the unseen.
Because even though Rukeyser was not writing about the current war, her poem still speaks to the current war. It still applies to the state of things today. I think that is another element that makes it universal.
Thanks for sharing your reading of it -- it's given me much to think about.
Kiala
I think that this is a beautiful interpretation of the way in which war simultaneously separates and connects every individual. Though modern-day media makes attempts at dissociating us from the reality of war that many people face on a daily basis, poems similar to Poem (I lived in the first century), remind us of the inescapabe nature of existence that war unintentionally creates. Thank you for giving me something to ponder!
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