Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Actual Vision of Morning's Extrusion" by Alan Dugan delves into the profound yet abstract theme of creation and emergence, using vivid and intense imagery to depict a morning as if it were the birth of consciousness and life itself. The poem’s language is rich with metaphor, blending elements of the natural world with human anatomy to create a surreal and philosophical exploration of existence.

The poem begins with an evocative image: "Grey smoke rose from the morning ground and separated into spheres." This smoke, representing perhaps the nebulous and undefined beginnings of thought or life, undergoes a transformation akin to the separation of the primal chaos into distinct entities. Each sphere of smoke coils "upon itself like snakes at love," a simile that injects a sense of primal energy and organic growth into the scene. The smoke hardens "into brains," the seat of consciousness and thought, positioned as "corals in the ocean of first light." This metaphor beautifully aligns the dawn of light with the dawn of awareness, suggesting that consciousness itself is as intricate and expansive as a coral reef under the first light of day.

As the vision continues, these 'brains' develop further, growing "shells" and giving rise to "bones" that clatter like "Mother of pearl." This vivid imagery suggests the physicality emerging from the ethereal, with the poetic structure mimicking the chaotic and organic formation of life. The intertwining of "two ivies," representing the red and white of arteries and nerves, introduces the life-sustaining systems of blood flow and neural connections, essential for physical and mental function. The ivies run down searchingly, emphasizing the explorative and interconnected nature of life's systems.

The subsequent stanzas further develop this theme of creation and life. Nerves "hummed in the wind," and the "running blood" pulses out a heart, enveloping everything in a "warm, red haze of flesh." This passage highlights the vitality and dynamic nature of living beings, portrayed here as almost spontaneously coming into existence. The emergence of life is depicted with a sense of urgency and rawness, with appetite, ejection, and love driving the physical formation, which "hardened in the temperature of dawn."

The anthropomorphic clocks then announce "Done!" marking the completion of this creative process, followed by a sudden rush of sensory experiences: eyes popping into heads, tears flowing, hair standing on end, and bodies taking their first breath. The color blue surrounding the heart, a symbol of life and emotion, signifies vitality and depth of feeling.

The poem concludes with a depiction of these newly formed beings as "walking dead," a paradox that suggests although they are newly created, they carry an inherent ancientness or a sense of predestined existence. They walk to test their forms, exploring their joints and the world they inhabit, driven by curiosity about the interaction of elements like water, sunlight, ground, and air. This explorative behavior reflects a fundamental human impulse to understand and interact with our environment, seeking meaning in the fabric of existence.

Through "Actual Vision of Morning's Extrusion," Dugan crafts a complex narrative of the emergence of life and consciousness, infused with a deep philosophical inquiry into the nature of existence. The poem challenges readers to contemplate the miraculous and intricate processes that underlie the familiar phenomena of life and awareness, using the metaphor of a morning's dawn as a canvas for this grand existential unveiling.

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