Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Carolyn Kizer’s poem "Ingathering" is a powerful meditation on the return of poets to their homeland after years of exile. The poem explores themes of displacement, memory, resilience, and the enduring connection to one's roots and language. Through vivid imagery and an evocative narrative, Kizer captures the emotional and physical journey of the poets as they reconnect with their past and their culture.

The poem begins by setting the scene of exile: "The poets are going home now, / After the years of exile, / After the northern climates / Where they worked, lectured, remembered, / Where they shivered at night / In an indifferent world." The harshness of the northern climates symbolizes the cold and indifferent reception the poets faced in exile, contrasting sharply with the warmth and familiarity of their homeland.

The line "Where God was the god of business, / And men would violate the poets’ moon, / And even the heavens become zones of war" suggests a world where commerce and conflict overshadow art and spirituality. This portrayal highlights the poets' sense of alienation and dislocation in a world that does not value their craft.

As the poets return, they come back to a place marked by history and loss: "To the blood-haunted villages, / To the crumbling walls, still pocked / With a spray of bullets; / To the ravine, marked with a new cross, / Where their brother died." The imagery of bullet-pocked walls and a ravine marked with a cross underscores the violence and trauma that have scarred their homeland. The act of bringing flowers to these sites of memory signifies a ritual of mourning and remembrance, a way of honoring those who have fallen.

Kizer then shifts the focus to the poets' reintegration into daily life: "To the cafés, to the life of the streets at twilight, / To slip among the crowds and greet their friends; / The young poets, old now, limping, who lean on a cane: / Or the arm of a grandchild." This depiction of twilight life, filled with familiar sights and smells, evokes a sense of nostalgia and belonging. The poets, now aged and changed, find solace in the mundane beauty of their homeland.

The return to their native language is depicted with great tenderness: "To the melodious language / That settles in their heads like moths alighting, / This language for which they starved / In a world of gutturals, / Crude monosyllables barked by strangers." The poets' language is described as a source of warmth and comfort, contrasting with the harsh and alien sounds of the languages they encountered in exile. This linguistic homecoming is portrayed as a deeply emotional and fulfilling experience.

The poem’s conclusion brings together the themes of return and acceptance: "Yes, poets, welcome home / To your small country / Riven by its little war / (As the world measures these events), / A country that remembers heroes and tears." Kizer acknowledges the ongoing struggles and conflicts of the homeland, but she also emphasizes the deep cultural and emotional bonds that sustain its people. The final image of the poets smiling "at everything, even the priests, the militia, / The patient earth that is waiting to receive you" suggests a profound sense of peace and reconciliation. The earth, personified as patient and enduring, represents the ultimate homecoming and the final resting place.

"Ingathering" by Carolyn Kizer is a beautifully crafted poem that captures the emotional and physical journey of returning to one’s roots. Through its rich imagery and evocative narrative, the poem explores the themes of exile, memory, language, and belonging. It celebrates the resilience of the poets and the enduring power of their words to keep the spirit of their homeland alive.