After reading this poem for the first time I thought Merwin was talking about a death or someone close to him that had changed, after going back and reading it the second time I noticed the title and put it all together that he was talking about himself. He talks about how he has significantly changed over time, and forgotten who he used to be, except for the little glimpses. It's easy to get caught up in the every day life and not be true to yourself and morals, which is what is happening in this poem.
The structure of this poem seems completely random at first, how the lines just cut off in the middle of sentences. Which I believe symbolizes that it can be confusing to try and get back to the "real" you and just focus on that. Also the beginning starts out pretty simple with the word "you" repeating a lot. Then I had to re-read the end a couple times because it seems like an oxymoron when he says, "who speak in the words but you are not what they say you who are not lost when I do not find you." When you can't find something then it is considered lost. It saying that your true self is really there and not lost, but a lot of times it's hard to find. These last 5 lines are even more randomly cut off then the rest of the poem because it shows that life starts out very simple and pure and gets more and more complicated as you continue.
I really like this poem and believe it's very true. Even though I'm young I can still relate.
(282 words)- posted at 11:40. Yay! ;) My time zone thing is off and it says its a hour later... idk how to fix that.
"It's easy to get caught up in the every day life and not be true to yourself and morals, which is what is happening in this poem." Good catch! Good thoughts on this one. I like it too!
ReplyDeleteP.S. You're okay! My time zone is off too. If I figure out how to fix it, I'll let you know!