In the poem, "The Essence," Mary Jo Bang describes the world as something hidden to the senses. She depicts the world as something outside of our grasp. She writes, "The world behind the mirror/ Was heartrendingly beautiful/ And convulsively sad"(1-3). The mirror suggests that she believes most people are self-centered and preoccupied with their own lives. So behind the mirror, or selfishness, is beauty and heartbreak. She must have spent a lot of time in the mirror before realizing the problems and needs of others. She continues to write, "In it, the almost-gone beloved was always turning/ A corner. His back in an overcoat"(4-5). She writes how her relationships and aspirations were always too far out of her reach. They were hard to distinguish before they disappeared. Mary Jo Bang's take on life is hauntingly bleak. She sees beauty in it, yet she does not enjoy it.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Elegy # 4
In the poem "There Is Only This," Mary Jo Bang recalls her memory of the death of her son. She tells the story of how she witnessed his death in the hospital. She remembers the exact time of death as well as his exit. She writes, " Now, 12:31 turning over in its bed,/ Its head to the feet of another, shrouded/ In a body bag"(1-3). The time was 12:31 when he had died and she watched the hospital workers take him away in a body bag. He was shrouded, as if he were erased from the world and never to be seen again, maybe even forgotten. After his removal, she sees herself in the third person. She describes, "A woman dead centered/ Is saying something/ It takes great patience to hear"(8-10). She describes how she must've looked and sounded. She stands motionless in the center of the room. She also must be at a loss for words, or else speaking incoherently or incessantly. Mary shows death to be a shaking event.
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4 comments:
In the poem "There is Only This," I think Bang's description of herself after her son has died is particularly moving. She is undoubtedly very sad, because parents really aren't meant to see their children die--it's usually the other way around. The fact that she describes herself as "...saying something/ It takes great patience to hear" makes me wonder who she is talking to (8-10). Probably, others treat her with pity and don't really know what to say to her after her son has died, which would only add to her grief.
This is really sad,but written very well. Your analyzing also helps, gives an even deeper expression. Overall, even though I don't know the woman I feel sorry for her and that she had to see her son die that way. The fact she remembers the whole event by each minute also shows she's a bit strong, it would seem that after A death this way one would try their best to forget or at least not remember with such clarity.
The death of a person close to someone has a strange effect on that person that momentarily cuts them off from the real world, because one of the main pillars of their world as they knew it has dissapeared forever. The sudden change in your life is too much to handle most of the time, and the natural response of a person is to phase out of reality in an attempt to cease to exist without their loved one.
The death of a child is always a harrowing experience and I like the way Bang describes the way the son in the poem died. She uses 'mood' words like shrouded. The metaphor is also creative and interestingly written. This sounds like a very hooking (maybe also haunting) poem. I also like how she uncinventionally put the time in a verse.
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