Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Food of Love," Carolyn Kizer presents a powerful and evocative exploration of love, possession, and transformation, using the metaphor of consuming and being consumed. The poem navigates the intense dynamics of a relationship through vivid, often violent imagery, ultimately portraying love as both a destructive and regenerative force.

The opening lines set the tone with a declaration of intent: "I’m going to murder you with love; / I’m going to suffocate you with embraces; / I’m going to hug you, bone by bone, / Till you’re dead all over." This stark imagery combines the tenderness of love with the violence of murder, immediately establishing the paradoxical nature of the relationship. The metaphorical suffocation and bone-crushing embrace suggest an overwhelming, almost suffocating affection that leads to total domination and destruction.

Kizer continues with a vivid depiction of consumption: "Then I will dine on your delectable marrow." This line transforms the beloved into a source of sustenance, emphasizing the idea of love as an all-consuming force. The metaphor of dining on marrow, the innermost part of the bones, underscores the deep, intimate connection and the desire to possess and internalize the other completely.

The poem then shifts to a desert metaphor, with the beloved becoming a "personal Sahara." The speaker's intention to "sun myself in you, then with one swallow / Drain your remaining brackish well" portrays a relentless extraction of every last resource. This image of a desolate, exhausted landscape is further intensified by the act of carving the speaker's name into the "most aspiring palm" before chopping it down, symbolizing a final act of possession and eradication of the beloved's identity.

However, the poem also explores themes of rebirth and transformation. The speaker envisions themselves as an "opulent mirage" stretching "horizon to horizon," offering a tantalizing vision of beauty and life in the midst of the desert. This mirage, with "Wisteria balconies dripping cyclamen" and "Vistas ablaze with crystal, laced in gold," symbolizes the seductive and illusory nature of the love being offered.

As the beloved, now a desolate desert, is drawn towards this mirage, the poem describes a dramatic resurgence of life: "A Mediterranean to stroke your dusty shores; / Obstinate verdure, creeping inland, fast renudes / Your barrens; succulents spring up everywhere." The speaker becomes the catalyst for this transformation, embodying the green life that revives the barren landscape. This resurrection and flourishing, however, come with a cyclical inevitability: "When you are fed and watered, flourishing / With shoots entwining trellis, dome, and spire, / Till you are resurrected field in bloom, / I will devour you, my natural food, / My host, my final supper on the earth, / And you’ll begin to die again."

The poem concludes with this cycle of consumption and renewal, portraying love as an eternal, transformative process that simultaneously nourishes and destroys. The speaker's final act of devouring the beloved, now vibrant and full of life, signifies the relentless nature of this cycle. The imagery of the "final supper" suggests a sacramental, almost ritualistic aspect to this act of consumption, linking it to themes of sacrifice and resurrection.

In "Food of Love," Kizer masterfully blends themes of love, possession, and transformation through rich, often startling imagery. The poem's exploration of the paradoxical nature of love—its capacity to both create and destroy—invites readers to reflect on the complexities and depths of human relationships. Through its vivid metaphors and intense emotional landscape, the poem captures the profound and often unsettling power of love.