Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Philip Levine's "Buying and Selling" is a reflective poem that delves into the juxtaposition of dreams and the mundane reality of work. Through detailed imagery and personal reflection, Levine explores themes of idealism, the passage of time, and the transformation of aspirations into the practicalities of adult life.

The poem begins with a sense of freedom and exhilaration as the speaker drives across the Bay Bridge, singing to the cool winds. This initial image of movement and openness contrasts sharply with the detailed descriptions of the speaker's actual work: buying mechanical parts steeped in Cosmoline, a rust-preventive coating, and navigating the labyrinthine warehouses of Benicia, the Oakland Naval Yard, or Alameda. The "brilliant Western sun" left behind as he enters the "wilderness of warehouses" symbolizes the departure from youthful dreams into the reality of his job.

Inside these warehouses, the speaker encounters a different world, one of "blinking artificial light" and sullen enlisted men. The process of unwrapping samples—hacking or sawing through layers of protective materials—becomes a metaphor for the arduous task of uncovering value in the mundane. The "dulled steel" revealed beneath layers of cardboard, metallic paper, cloth webbing, and wax represents the hidden, often overlooked worth in seemingly ordinary objects.

Levine's attention to the specifics of these mechanical parts—drive shafts, universal joints, perfect bearings—serves as a reminder of the precision and functionality that underpin industrial labor. These parts, though steeped in Cosmoline, retain their "purity of functional design" and, like people, have the potential to become legends of usefulness before being transformed into something else entirely, like sculpture. This transformation mirrors the human condition, where the practical and the poetic intersect.

The poem takes a personal turn as the speaker reflects on his past. At twenty, he wept publicly over the death of the poet Keats in the Dexter-Davison branch of the public library, praying to be among the immortals. This youthful idealism and connection to literary greatness contrast with his present life at thirty, where he lives "by a code of figures so arcane they passed from one side of the brain to the other only in darkness." The shift from the emotional depth of poetry to the cold precision of mechanical codes highlights the disillusionment and adjustment that often accompany adulthood.

The speaker's abandonment of several careers by the age of twenty-six underscores the theme of searching for identity and purpose. The transition from aspiring to immortality through art to engaging in the practical world of buying and selling mechanical parts illustrates the often-unexpected paths life takes and the compromises made along the way.

Levine's language is rich and evocative, capturing both the tactile details of industrial work and the emotional landscape of personal reflection. The poem's structure moves fluidly between the present and the past, weaving together the speaker's current reality with his memories and aspirations. This seamless integration of different time periods creates a layered narrative that resonates with the complexities of human experience.

"Buying and Selling" ultimately reflects on the intersection of dreams and reality, the transformation of youthful idealism into the practicalities of adult life, and the enduring value found in both the mundane and the extraordinary. Through his masterful use of imagery and personal reflection, Levine invites readers to consider their own journeys and the ways in which they navigate the tension between aspiration and reality. The poem is a testament to the enduring human spirit and the search for meaning amidst the everyday tasks and challenges of life.

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