Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Wish" by Louise Gluck is an exploration of intimacy and the transcendent power of art, particularly the poetic form. The poem unfolds as a brief conversation between two people about a past event, offering readers an intimate glance into the nature of wishes and the complexities of relationships. A sense of yearning permeates the dialogue, emphasizing the distance between the speakers even as they discuss their shared past.

The opening lines introduce a time when a wish was made, a moment already shrouded in ambiguity. "I make a lot of wishes," says one speaker, immediately emphasizing the plurality and perhaps the futility of wishes. Then the poem brings up a past deception regarding a butterfly, though the details are left deliberately vague. This lie serves as a foil to the wish, creating a contrast between the stated (or wished-for) and the actual, between appearance and reality.

While the wish was private, it becomes a point of curiosity and speculation. "What do you think I wished for?" one speaker asks, turning the wish into an enigmatic puzzle that reveals as much about the one guessing as the one who made the wish. The guess offered-"That I'd come back, that we'd somehow be together in the end"-is filled with a yearning for reconciliation and a shared future. It encapsulates the emotional and relational dimensions that wishes often take on.

However, the reveal in the last lines is both surprising and poignant. "I wished for what I always wish for. I wished for another poem." With this admission, the poem elevates the act of creation above even the intimacy of a relationship. The wish for a poem is both an escape from and a means to understand reality. Here, art is not a diversion or an afterthought but a primal wish that represents the speaker's deepest yearning. This wish speaks to the redemptive and generative power of art-how it can serve as both a mirror and a window, reflecting the complexities of our relationships and inner lives while also offering a view into new possibilities.

This ending alters the emotional landscape of the poem. What at first seems like a poem about a failed or fraught relationship reveals itself as a testament to the enduring power of poetry. It suggests that the act of creating art can be as emotionally significant and complex as navigating relationships. The wish for "another poem" is thus not a denial of emotional or relational needs but an affirmation of the deep, almost elemental urge to make sense of our experiences through art. In "Wish," Gluck eloquently portrays the intricate interplay between art and life, leaving us to ponder which is the more profound yearning.

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