Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Muriel Rukeyser's "The Book of the Dead: The Cornfield" dives deeply into the layered realities of the Gauley Bridge tunnel disaster, blending the stark imagery of rural life with the grim outcomes of industrial exploitation. This poem is a masterful intersection of personal testimony, economic critique, and poignant metaphor.

The opening lines, "Error, disease, snow, sudden weather," set a foreboding tone, suggesting an environment fraught with unpredictability and hardship. The description of the house, "wading in snow, its cracks are sealed with clay, walls papered with print," evokes a sense of isolation and makeshift survival. This imagery of a home fortified against the elements parallels the resilience of the families grappling with loss and disease.

Rukeyser introduces the long-faced man who "rises long-handed jams the door tight against snow." This figure symbolizes the inhabitants' struggle to maintain a semblance of normalcy and security in the face of overwhelming adversity. His actions are deliberate and ritualistic, highlighting the everyday fight against encroaching chaos.

The cornfield, central to the poem's metaphorical landscape, serves as a symbol of both life and death. Sworn by the corn, it represents the cycle of planting and harvesting, growth and decay. This imagery is contrasted with the industrial brutality faced by the workers: "blind corpses rode with him in front, knees broken into angles." The juxtaposition of natural cycles with the unnatural, violent deaths of the miners underscores the disruption of traditional rural life by industrial greed.

The narrative shifts to the funeral services, emphasizing the commodification of death: "His office: where he sits, feet on the stove, loaded trestles through door, satin-lined, silk-lined, unlined, cheap." The undertaker's pragmatic approach to death starkly contrasts with the personal tragedies of the families. The photograph of H.C. White and the casual mention of pneumonia, pleurisy, and tuberculosis reveal a routine familiarity with death, further highlighting the desensitization to human suffering.

Rukeyser's poetic voice captures the testimonies and conversations of those affected. George Robinson's account, "I knew a man who died at four in the morning at the camp," and the subsequent dialogue about the men's awareness of their impending deaths add a visceral dimension to the narrative. The question, "Do they seem to be living in fear or do they wish to die?" and Robinson's response, "They are getting to breathe a little faster," reflect a grim acceptance of their fate, underscoring the physical and psychological toll of their work.

The poem's imagery of the cornfield, "white and wired by thorns, old cornstalks, snow, the planted home," serves as a potent metaphor for the men's burial grounds. The "wood stakes, charred at tip, few scratched and named (pencil or nail)" evoke a sense of anonymity and neglect, mirroring the workers' erasure in death as they were in life. This portrayal of the cornfield as both a site of life and a mass grave poignantly captures the intersection of rural life and industrial death.

In a powerful invocation, "Abel America, calling from under the corn, Earth, uncover my blood!" Rukeyser evokes biblical imagery to frame the workers' suffering within a broader historical and moral context. The call to uncover the blood speaks to a desire for recognition and justice, challenging the silence and complicity surrounding these deaths.

The poem closes with a reflection on the desire for life: "They want to live as long as they can." This simple yet profound statement underscores the fundamental human drive for survival and dignity, even amidst the direst circumstances.

Rukeyser's "The Book of the Dead: The Cornfield" is a compelling exploration of the intersection between rural life and industrial exploitation, personal tragedy, and broader social injustice. Through vivid imagery and poignant testimony, Rukeyser gives voice to the silenced and forgotten, weaving a narrative that demands recognition and remembrance.

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