Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Et Cetera, Et Cetera" by Mark Strand serves as a poetic eulogy to Joseph Brodsky, capturing the essence of impermanence, memory, and the ineffable nature of human existence. This poem navigates the space between "knowing and nothing," shedding light on how Brodsky's presence-or perhaps the presence of anyone meaningful-lingers in a nuanced balance of absence and remembrance.

The poem starts by describing the self as something that "Unwinds into a vanishing light," evoking an ethereal, almost mystical departure. The unwinding here may symbolize the gradual letting go of worldly concerns, relationships, and identities as one approaches an uncertain destination. The poem seems to suggest that this destination is a place "which may never be found," a locale of "unsayable" experiences, things beyond our understanding or articulation. This is especially poignant when considering this is written "in memory of Joseph Brodsky," highlighting the ineffable nature of death and memory, how they defy straightforward explanations or representations.

The word "unwinding" appears multiple times throughout the poem, providing a rhythmic and thematic focal point. The idea of unwinding speaks to the process of decomposition, of unraveling, and yet it also captures the essence of transcendence. It transcends "the boundaries," both physical and metaphysical, between people ("the shapeless one between us") and within individuals themselves ("between your body and your voice"). Brodsky is portrayed as transcendent, an embodiment of the dynamic, ever-changing nature of human existence that defies simplistic categorizations.

Mark Strand employs a contemplative tone and a flowing structure to navigate this complex landscape. The absence of a strict rhyme scheme or meter allows the words to spill over each other, much like the boundaries and categories that the poem tells us are meaningless or transient. This structural choice gives the impression of a meditation, a pondering, a consideration that mirrors the existential uncertainties being discussed.

In addressing Brodsky directly as "Joseph, Dear Joseph," the poem suddenly becomes deeply personal, collapsing the space between the speaker and the departed. This direct address, as well as the idea that places and times' "greatest life was the one you gave them," brings to focus the profound impact an individual can have on the spaces and moments they inhabit. In Brodsky's absence, those places and times "appear / Like ghosts in your wake." The poem itself, then, serves as one of these spaces-an artifact of Brodsky's lingering influence.

Strand concludes the poem by placing us-the living-within a temporal framework where "time is only a measure of meanwhile / And the future no more than et cetera, et cetera." This line serves as an existential reminder that life, in all its complexity and confusion, moves on "fast and forever," even as we try to grapple with the transient yet indelible imprints left by those who have passed away.

In summary, "Et Cetera, Et Cetera" is a tribute to Joseph Brodsky and an exploration of the enigmatic boundaries of human existence. The poem questions the rigidity of these boundaries and how we navigate them in the face of memory, loss, and the inexorable passage of time. Through a lyrical and thematic complexity, Mark Strand delivers a powerful meditation that reflects the complexities of both Brodsky and the human condition.

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