Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Carolyn Kizer’s "What the Bones Know" is a contemplative poem that grapples with the intertwined nature of love, lust, and death. Through an interplay of references to W.B. Yeats and Marcel Proust, Kizer explores how these themes persistently haunt human experience, particularly as one confronts mortality. The poem’s structure and repetition of the word "breath" emphasize the cyclical nature of these themes and their inevitable impact on life.

The poem opens with the speaker recalling the past and deriving a complex satisfaction from it. The lines "Remembering the past / And gloating at it now," suggest a reflective, almost triumphant stance. However, this reflection is tinged with the acknowledgment of the persistent nature of desire and mortality: "I know the frozen brow / And shaking sides of lust / Will dog me at my death / To catch my ghostly breath." This imagery evokes the unrelenting nature of physical desires that follow one even to the brink of death, capturing the inevitable tension between the flesh and the spirit.

Kizer then invokes Yeats, asserting, "I think that Yeats was right, / That lust and love are one." This reference to Yeats highlights the poet’s belief in the intrinsic connection between physical desire and emotional intimacy. The lines "The body of this night / May beggar me to death, / But we are not undone / Who love with all our breath" reinforce the idea that love, even when intertwined with lust, provides a sustaining force that transcends physical limitations. The phrase "love with all our breath" emphasizes the totality and intensity of this experience.

In contrast, Kizer challenges Proust's view on love: "I know that Proust was wrong, / His wheeze: love, to survive, / Needs jealousy, and death / And lust, to make it strong / Or goose it back alive." Here, Proust’s perspective is dismissed as overly complex and perhaps artificial. Kizer’s use of the word "wheeze" conveys a sense of derision and dismissal of Proust’s idea that love requires external stimuli like jealousy and death to be vital. The repetition of "breath" in "Proust took away my breath" serves as a counterpoint, suggesting that Proust’s theories suffocate the natural essence of love.

The final stanza circles back to Yeats, with Kizer affirming, "The later Yeats was right / To think of sex and death / And nothing else." This stark declaration underscores the poet's belief in the fundamental and inseparable nature of these themes. The rhetorical question, "Why wait / Till we are turning old?" suggests an urgency to embrace life’s passionate experiences without delay. The juxtaposition of "hot and cold" thoughts reflects the internal conflict and intensity of emotions that define human existence. The closing line, "I do not waste my breath," encapsulates the speaker's resolve to fully engage with life’s passions without reservation.

Kizer’s poem, through its engagement with Yeats and Proust, offers a meditation on the powerful forces of love, lust, and death. By affirming Yeats’ perspective and rejecting Proust’s, Kizer emphasizes the raw, unembellished truth of human experience. The repetition of "breath" throughout the poem serves as a reminder of the vital and finite nature of life, urging a wholehearted embrace of love and desire. "What the Bones Know" ultimately reflects on the enduring and inescapable nature of these themes, suggesting that they are intrinsic to the human condition and continue to shape our lives until the very end.

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