Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Small Prayer" by Weldon Kees is a succinct yet powerful plea for renewal and healing. Through its evocative language and imagery, the poem captures a moment of intense longing for change and the restoration of a sense of time and clarity. The speaker's desperate appeal to both the clock and the sun underscores the depth of their need for transformation and relief.

The opening line, "Change, move, dead clock, that this fresh day / May break with dazzling light to these sick eyes," immediately sets the tone of the poem. The speaker addresses the "dead clock," symbolizing a stagnation or standstill in time. This stagnant state has left the speaker yearning for movement and change. The "fresh day" breaking with "dazzling light" represents hope and the possibility of renewal. The phrase "sick eyes" suggests that the speaker has been in darkness or suffering for a long time, and the arrival of light would be a much-needed reprieve.

The poem continues with a direct address to the sun: "Burn, glare, old sun, so long unseen." The sun, a universal symbol of life and vitality, has been absent or hidden from the speaker's view. The command to "burn" and "glare" reflects an urgent desire for the sun's powerful, cleansing light to return. This invocation of the sun emphasizes the speaker's need for a force strong enough to dispel the darkness that has enveloped them.

Kees then ties the restoration of time and light to the process of healing: "That time may find its sound again, and cleanse / Whatever it is that a wound remembers / After the healing ends." The restoration of the "sound" of time suggests a return to normalcy and the rhythm of life that has been disrupted. The idea that time and light can "cleanse" speaks to the therapeutic power of renewal, not just physically but emotionally and psychologically. The wound's memory, even after it has healed, holds onto the pain and trauma of the past. The speaker longs for a deeper healing that goes beyond mere physical recovery, one that can also address and purify the lingering memories of suffering.

In "Small Prayer," Kees encapsulates a moment of profound yearning for change and the restoration of life's natural rhythms. The poem's brevity and intensity highlight the speaker's desperation and the significance of the transformation they seek. Through the powerful imagery of the clock and the sun, Kees conveys a universal human desire for renewal, healing, and the hope that comes with the return of light and the passage of time.

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