Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Love of Aged Horses" by Jane Hirshfield is a rich, intimate portrayal of love and companionship, articulated through the lives of two old horses. The poem is a poignant rumination on the inevitable yet transformative power of love that can make even the most common and mundane aspects of life feel extraordinary.

The poem opens with a sense of impending loss-the "spotted mare" is to be taken away, leaving the "faithful gelding" in emotional turmoil. This sense of imminent separation evokes an empathetic urgency in the speaker, who opts to give the gelding one last joyful experience-a "gallop on Diaz Ridge." Hirshfield excels in embedding multiple layers of emotion within a simple narrative framework, capturing both the inevitable grief of separation and the intense emotional capacity of animals.

The mare's character is painted with textured language-she is "Ancient, spavined, her white parts red with hill-dust, her red parts whitened with the same." This description shows her physical frailty and age but also signifies how deeply she is a part of the landscape they share. Her lack of response to the gelding's calls adds a melancholic dimension to the poem; it symbolizes the unspoken and often unreciprocated dimensions of love that exist in human relationships as well.

The poem's style is as textured as its thematic underpinning; the imagery is both realistic and poetic. Phrases like "taste of chewed oat on his tongue" and "saddle-sweat rinsed off with water" ground the poem in tangible details. At the same time, the use of the word "chiasmus" and the poetic image of their "eight marks of their fortune" bring a lyrical depth to the narrative.

The final stanzas provide a climax, revealing the mutual physicality of their love-"His long teeth on her withers, her rough-coated spots will grow damp and wild." In the moment, they are "one body," their love manifesting as a boundless fortune, wiping away the individual footprints they had left on the earth. Hirshfield employs the metaphor of their "shadows' chiasmus" to reflect how their lives intersect and complement each other, culminating in an irreplaceable union that feels almost mythic in its depth.

"Love of Aged Horses" elegantly balances the imminence of loss and the beauty of momentary unity. It discusses love, not as a youthful or human-exclusive experience but as a universal, ageless force. Through the depiction of these two horses, the poem illuminates the nature of love as an elemental experience that transcends species, age, and even the impending doom of separation. Hirshfield's nuanced narrative and poetic skill make this poem an evocative exploration of the multiple facets of love-its joy, its sorrow, and its transcendent power.

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