Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Axis," Octavio Paz delves into an almost elemental interplay between two individuals, capturing the rawness and profundity of physical intimacy as a metaphor for larger, perhaps cosmic, connections. The imagery used is deeply rooted in nature, referencing elements such as sun, night, water, forest, and wheat. These are not arbitrary symbols; each contributes to the poem's elemental and cyclical energy, as if each coupling regenerates the world.

The recurrent phrase "Through the conduits" serves as a literal and metaphoric link in the poem. Physiologically speaking, conduits in the body refer to veins or arteries, the channels through which lifeblood flows. Metaphorically, they signify connections, paths of transfer or transformation, like rivers that connect disparate regions. Either way, they serve as pathways for exchange-of blood, of feeling, of experience.

"My body in your body / spring of night / my tongue of sun in your forest" - in these lines, the bodies of the two individuals become landscapes unto themselves. The interaction between them is not merely sexual but elemental, invoking night and sun, two polar forces in nature. The "spring of night" and "tongue of sun" are contrasting yet complementary elements, implying that their union is one of balance, fulfilling a natural order.

The phrase "your body a kneading trough / I red wheat" paints an image of productivity and creation. Kneading troughs are used to make bread, a basic staple of life, while red wheat is raw, full of potential. Together, they evoke fecundity, perhaps a metaphor for how their union could yield new life or new experiences.

Then we see phrases like "I night I water / I forest that moves forward / I tongue / I body / I sun-bone," which echo a sense of becoming and transformation. Each is fluid, each transforms into the other in a perpetual dance of roles and identities. Here, the boundaries between the self and the other become porous, blending and fusing into one another in a continually evolving interplay of elements.

The poem concludes with an almost incantatory sequence: "Spring of bones / Spring of suns." The mention of "spring" encapsulates the cyclical nature of life and relationships. Bones and suns are the building blocks of physical reality and the cosmos, respectively. To label them as "spring" is to understand that these elements, like the people in the poem, are not isolated entities but part of a cycle of destruction and creation, intimacy and detachment, individuality and oneness.

In "Axis," Paz captures the totality of existence through the lens of a deeply personal, intimate relationship. The poem speaks to the vast interconnectedness of life, drawing parallels between the physical and the cosmic, the momentary and the eternal. It's a compelling testament to the idea that personal relationships can be a microcosm of universal truths, offering insights into the very nature of being and existence

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...