Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Louise Gluck's "Cana" is an evocative exploration of love, loss, and transformation, set against the backdrop of nature's relentless cycle of change. The poem employs vivid imagery and symbolism to examine how even the most luminous moments in life can fade, forcing us to confront the impermanence of happiness and the ever-changing facets of human emotion.

The speaker opens with a question: "What can I tell you that you don't know / that will make you tremble again?" This introduces a sense of longing, a desire to rekindle something that has seemingly been lost. It also immediately addresses another-possibly a past lover-making the reader the third party to an intimate conversation.

"Forsythia / by the roadside, by / wet rocks, on the embankments / underplanted with hyacinth-" serves as a visual representation of a happier time. Forsythia, known for its bright yellow blossoms, can symbolize anticipation and the hyacinth represents sincerity or constancy. The poet carefully uses these flowers to depict a period that was not just emotionally, but almost cosmically, vivid: "For ten years I was happy."

But just as nature transitions through seasons, so does the love the speaker once felt. The words "you were always with me, the house, the garden / constantly lit," convey a sense of steady presence, a comfort that feels eternal while it lasts. The "lights" here are not merely celestial bodies but "those emblems of light," metaphors for love, happiness, or enlightenment, that appear even more powerful because they are "some earthly / thing transformed."

However, the climax of the poem comes with the stark realization: "And all of it vanished, / reabsorbed into impassive process." The transition is not just from love to loss but from brilliance to an "impassive process," a natural decay or change, devoid of sentimentality. The yellow torches of forsythia, symbols of the initial joy and anticipation, have morphed into "green branches," signs of a different kind of life or reality, perhaps less vibrant but more enduring.

The poem ends with another question, echoing its beginning and rounding off its narrative arc: "Then / what will we see by, / now that the yellow torches have become / green branches?" It captures the inevitable existential crisis that comes after the demise or transformation of love. If the previous light guided the speaker through a specific chapter of life, what will illuminate their world now?

"Cana" masterfully delves into the complexities of human relationships and the temporal nature of emotions. Gluck skillfully employs the symbolism of natural elements to externalize internal emotional states, inviting the reader to reflect on the cycles of their own experiences. The poem stands as a poignant reminder that nothing, not even the most radiant happiness, remains unchanged, and yet, life goes on, albeit in different shades.