Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

May Swenson’s "Feel Me" is a deeply meditative poem, probing the complexities of death, familial connection, and the unresolvable mystery of parting words. Through its searching tone and layered interpretations, the poem captures the ambivalence of meaning in a dying father’s final utterance: “Feel me to do right.” This phrase becomes the central enigma around which the poem’s exploration of grief, understanding, and the longing for clarity revolves.

The poem begins with the speaker recounting their father’s cryptic last words. The ambiguity of “Feel me to do right” immediately creates a sense of puzzlement and yearning. The phrase, uttered as though through “a slot in a wall,” suggests a barrier between the living and the dying—a separation that is both literal and symbolic. The family, gathered at his deathbed, is left to decipher his intent, confronting the limits of language and the challenge of interpreting an utterance that seems both profound and inaccessible.

Swenson’s repetition and reexamination of the father’s words serve to heighten the sense of mystery. The phrase is unpacked in multiple ways, each yielding a different potential meaning. Did the father mean that his children should feel his spirit after his death to guide them in doing right? Was it an acknowledgment of his own readiness to cross the threshold into death, despite their imploring him to stay? Or was it a plea for connection in his final moments, a request for a physical touch that might bridge the divide?

The poem moves seamlessly between these interpretations, reflecting the speaker’s internal struggle to grasp the meaning of their father’s final wish. Swenson’s use of rhetorical questions—“Did it mean that, though he died, he would be felt / through some aperture?” and “Or was it merely his apology / for dying?”—reveals the impossibility of arriving at a definitive answer. This uncertainty mirrors the broader human experience of grappling with mortality and the incompleteness of understanding at life’s end.

Swenson’s imagery is both intimate and cosmic. The father’s death is depicted as an event of profound transformation, where he “felt he suddenly knew / what dying was” and became “less dense.” This portrayal elevates his passing to a metaphysical plane, suggesting that death brings a new clarity or state of being, inaccessible to the living. At the same time, the poem remains grounded in the visceral reality of grief, with the family “kneeling around an emptiness” after his death. The juxtaposition of these perspectives underscores the tension between the spiritual and the physical, between transcendence and loss.

The poem also reflects on the limitations of the living in providing comfort to the dying. The father’s plea—whether for understanding, connection, or touch—is met with the family’s uncertainty and helplessness. Their repeated question, “What can we do?,” underscores their inability to bridge the gap between life and death, to offer the kind of solace their father might have sought. The speaker’s retrospective contemplation—“Should we have heard it as a plea for a caress?”—further emphasizes this theme, suggesting a lingering guilt or regret over what was left undone or unsaid.

Swenson’s language is marked by a rhythmic interplay of repetition and variation, mirroring the recursive nature of the speaker’s thoughts. The repetition of “Feel me” throughout the poem serves as both a refrain and a point of return, anchoring the poem’s exploration in the father’s enigmatic words. The use of enjambment creates a sense of flow and continuity, allowing the poem to move seamlessly between its various interpretations and emotional registers.

In the closing lines, the poem shifts to a more direct and poignant articulation of the father’s possible intent: “Lie down with me, and hold me, tight. Touch me. Be / with me. Feel with me. Feel me to do right.” These lines suggest that the father’s final plea was not for abstract understanding or posthumous remembrance, but for a simple, tangible act of connection—a physical and emotional presence that might ease his passage from life to death. The repetition of “feel” in these lines underscores the urgency and intimacy of this desire, transforming the father’s words into a profound meditation on the human need for closeness and comfort in the face of mortality.

Ultimately, "Feel Me" is a poem about the unknowable aspects of death and the enduring questions it leaves behind. Through its layered interpretations and evocative language, the poem captures the complexity of grief, the limitations of understanding, and the deep, universal longing for connection that transcends life and death. Swenson’s exploration of these themes invites readers to reflect on their own experiences of loss and the ways in which love, memory, and presence persist in the face of absence.

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