Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Covering Two Years," Weldon Kees conveys a profound sense of existential despair and the struggle for renewal following a period of creative and emotional stagnation. The poem intricately captures the frustration of grappling with a void that seems to consume itself, as well as the slow, painful process of emerging from this void with a changed perspective.

The opening line, "This nothingness that feeds upon itself," sets a tone of introspection and futility, suggesting a cycle of emptiness that perpetuates itself. The imagery of "pencils that turn to water in the hand" and "parts of a sentence, hanging in the air" vividly depicts the dissolution of concrete thoughts and ideas, reinforcing the sense of creative paralysis. This imagery suggests the frustration of an artist or writer who is unable to translate their thoughts into tangible form, as if their tools and ideas are melting away.

Kees continues with the image of "thoughts breaking in the mind like glass," emphasizing the fragility and fragmentation of his mental state. The "blank sheets of paper that reflect the world" serve as a metaphor for both the emptiness he faces and the silence that has engulfed him. The whiteness of the paper mirrors the silence, creating a stark, oppressive environment that has "whitened the world that I was silenced by." This line encapsulates the overwhelming sense of being stifled and muted by an unyielding void.

The poet reflects on "two years of that," marking a significant period of enduring this corrosive nothingness. The subsequent lines, "Slowly, / Whatever splits, dissevers, cuts, cracks, ravels, or divides / To bring me to that diet of corrosion, burned / And flickered to its terminal," suggest a gradual intensification of this state until it reaches a breaking point. The imagery of burning and flickering evokes a sense of consuming destruction, as if the poet's very essence has been eroded over time.

The turning point of the poem is marked by a shift to the present: "Now in an older hand I write my name." This line signifies a reclamation of identity and agency, albeit with a sense of altered self-awareness. The poet acknowledges the passage of time and the changes it has wrought, indicated by the "older hand" and the "voice grown unfamiliar." These lines convey a sense of alienation from oneself, as if the speaker is reintroducing themselves to their own identity after a long absence.

The poem concludes with the poet speaking "to silences of altered rooms, / Shaken by knowledge of recurrence and return." This final reflection encapsulates the dual nature of the poet's experience: the haunting awareness that the void and silence may return, and the tentative hope that comes with the ability to speak and create once more. The "altered rooms" symbolize the changes in the poet's internal and external world, reshaped by the years of silence and the subsequent renewal.

"Covering Two Years" is a powerful meditation on the cyclical nature of creativity and despair, capturing the struggle to reclaim one's voice and identity in the aftermath of profound emptiness. Kees' use of vivid, evocative imagery and introspective tone invites readers to empathize with the poet's journey through desolation to a tentative renewal, reflecting on the resilience and persistence required to overcome such periods of creative and existential void.