Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Speed of Light," by William Stanley Merwin, traverses the blurry lines between perception and reality, especially as they relate to the passage of time. The poem captures the deceptive constancy of summer days, creating an illusion that time has somehow paused. This perception clashes against the poem's underlying message: that time's "axle" turns relentlessly, carrying us all toward an inevitable destination.

Merwin introduces the reader to idyllic summer days that appear to stretch on indefinitely. He vividly portrays mornings that open "into the sky," with dew glittering "in the webs," evoking a sense of permanence in their beauty and serenity. This setting seems to be "something of ours / to have and keep," and it appears that "the brightness we could not touch / and the air we could not hold had come to be there all the time / for us and would never be gone." This encapsulates a common human feeling-that significant moments or periods in life are everlasting, a sensation especially prevalent in youth or times of happiness.

However, Merwin subtly interjects hints that disrupt this illusion. He speaks of an "ancient car" coughing to life in a barn and a "rusty" tractor rumbling into action. These are not just pastoral elements but markers of time, signs of decay and continuation. They suggest that while the human eye is caught by the overt beauty of summer, less noticeable objects carry on in their roles, aging and degrading.

The poem then shifts toward a more abstract imagery, a "hollow wheel that was turning and turning us taking us / all away." This is the wheel of time, a construct that waits for no one. The poet notes that the signs were there all along, "fast in the spokes" of that ever-turning wheel-the swallows, the tractor, the ancient car, and even "the tires of the baker's van / where the wheels of bread were stacked like days in calendars." In these lines, the wheel and the bread operate as metaphors for the cyclical nature of time and the idea that our days are "stacked" but also predestined to "go," much like bread meant for consumption.

By the end of the poem, the characters begin "to listen for what / might be escaping us," a realization initiated by the lengthening afternoon shadows, a universal sign of a day nearing its end. This prompts the villagers to hear "high voices ringing / the village at sundown calling their animals home." The poem concludes with "the bats after dark and the silence on its road," a quiet but definitive acknowledgement of the advancing night, both literal and metaphorical.

The grandeur of "Speed of Light" lies in its potent blend of tangible detail and abstract philosophy. It explores the tension between our perception of time as static during comforting or joyous periods and the relentless, actual motion of time. The poem functions as a kind of memento mori, not in a morbid sense, but as a gentle reminder to be keenly aware of the passage of life. It captures the bittersweet realization that while moments are transitory, their impact and lessons can be enduring. It advises us to live not in blissful ignorance of time's passage but in a meaningful engagement with it.

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