Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In Linda Gregg's "Wrapping Stones," the poet delves into the aftermath of love's departure, examining the residues and remnants left behind when love is no longer present. Through vivid imagery and poignant reflection, Gregg captures the sense of loss and the persistence of memory in the landscape of one's life.

The poem opens with a powerful declaration: "Everything I am is what survived / love's leaving." This sets the stage for an exploration of identity shaped by absence and survival. The speaker's current existence, including all her experiences and possessions, is framed as a continuation of what has endured after love has dissipated. This concept is reinforced with the line, "Everything I see, eat, want, / have is what survived the goneness / of what love is." Here, Gregg underscores the pervasive impact of love's absence, influencing every aspect of the speaker's life.

Gregg uses the metaphor of a house to illustrate the destructive force of love and time: "Love, like time, takes down / the house, leaving only the partial walls, / open squares of light for windows, / and a door." This image evokes the idea of love and time as forces that deconstruct, leaving behind a skeleton of what once was whole. The remnants of the house—partial walls, windows, and a door—suggest fragments of memories and experiences that remain even after the essence of love has departed.

The poem then shifts to a more tangible image, describing a local custom where "the people here wrap / their special stones in large tea leaves." This practice of wrapping stones in tea leaves symbolizes a way of preserving and honoring what is valuable or cherished, even in the face of loss. The speaker's journey back, "looking for / a fallen bamboo the right length / for drying kimonos," adds a layer of cultural specificity and continuity, highlighting the integration of personal grief within the broader context of daily life and tradition.

As the poem progresses, Gregg reflects on the nature of familiarity and resilience: "what / a surprise it is that even such a love / becomes familiar like everything else." Despite the pain and loss, the memory of love becomes a familiar part of the speaker's existence, akin to the regularity of natural phenomena. The persistence of memory and the "place" kept for love, "stubborn, blessed," through "six years of pain," speaks to the enduring nature of love's impact, even when it has long since departed.

The final lines of the poem draw a poignant comparison: "Now it's like the sun going down / each day. Or the moon changing size / predictably all along its range of feeling." These celestial cycles symbolize the inevitability and constancy of change, much like the experiences of love and loss. However, the poem concludes on a somber note, likening love to "the salmon that have not come back / to Walnut Creek for the last three years." This metaphor evokes a sense of irreversible loss and the natural ebb and flow of life, where some things may never return.

"Wrapping Stones" by Linda Gregg is a meditation on the enduring impact of love's absence, exploring how identity, memory, and daily life are shaped by what remains after love has left. Through rich imagery and introspective reflection, Gregg captures the complexities of loss and the ways in which we carry forward, even as we hold onto the fragments of what once was.

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