Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

David Wagoner’s "Burial Song" offers a meditative farewell to the physical body, blending resignation, reverence, and an acknowledgment of mortality’s permanence. The poem presents death as both a release from the demands of existence and a profound transformation, where the body becomes an object in the landscape, no longer part of the living world’s ceaseless movement.

The opening lines introduce the body as an active, dynamic participant in life: “It ran on its legs and waved its hands, / Dug holes, cracked wood.” Wagoner celebrates the body’s versatility and its intrinsic connection to the physical world through work, play, and survival. Each action—digging, climbing, leaping—conveys vitality and purpose. Yet these movements are framed retrospectively, emphasizing the transition from life’s vigor to death’s stillness. The repetitive use of past tense reinforces this shift, signaling that the body’s role in such activities has irrevocably ended.

The poem explores the body’s relationship with its environment, capturing its cyclical journey. It “came back to its beginning, aiming its empty ears / And eyes into the four mouths of the wind.” This return to the elements suggests a reunification with nature, where the body, once animate, now becomes part of the larger forces that shaped it. The reference to the "four mouths of the wind" evokes a sense of universality, hinting at the body’s submission to a cosmic order beyond human comprehension.

Wagoner subtly contrasts the body’s former vitality with its present inertness. Once capable of carrying “another body into the woods,” it now “lies still.” The shift from action to stasis marks the cessation of agency. The body’s stillness invites interpretation from those left behind: “Children may tease it with sticks / Or women call to it, laughing behind their fingers.” These gestures reflect the living’s inability to fully grasp death’s gravity, treating the body as an object of curiosity or irreverence. Men’s challenges, described as “proud crowing,” further underscore this detachment, as they confront the body as if it were still a rival to be overcome. Yet the body’s lack of response—“it wants nothing from them and will not move”—reaffirms its transition into an unyielding permanence.

The poem’s focus shifts to the physicality of the corpse: “Its hands stay where they belong—together— / Its eyes shut, its heels not rising or dragging.” These details emphasize the body’s withdrawal from life’s rhythms. The hands, once tools of action, are now folded in repose; the eyes, once open to the world, are permanently closed. The body is described as maintaining “a cold council,” a phrase that imbues it with an aura of mystery and finality. It becomes an emblem of silence, inaccessible to the living’s interpretations or desires.

Wagoner draws attention to the contrast between the living’s forward momentum and the body’s eternal stillness: “Now yours will go forward, / But mine will stay in this Now, exactly here.” This stark juxtaposition underscores the inevitability of separation in death. The living continue their journey through time, while the body remains rooted in a fixed moment and place. The assertion that “Tomorrow it will seem far behind you” captures the transient nature of grief and memory, as the living gradually move on, leaving the deceased behind in both space and thought.

The closing lines imbue the body with a haunting presence, suggesting its lingering influence on those who knew it: “Though you squint till you weep, you will not see it / Nor will Hawk from the edge of his cloud / Nor will Owl see it in this different darkness.” These images emphasize the body’s retreat into invisibility and the profound transformation death entails. It becomes something that defies perception, residing in a darkness impenetrable even to creatures of keen sight.

Yet the poem resists total erasure, as the body’s memory persists: “It will lie in wait for you to remember / Like a dream stiffened with danger.” Here, Wagoner suggests that the body, though absent, remains a latent force, capable of re-emerging in memory or dreams. The phrase “stiffened with danger” captures the discomfort of recalling mortality and the unease it inspires. The body, now inert, holds a symbolic power that extends beyond its physical demise, confronting the living with their own impermanence.

"Burial Song" is a contemplative exploration of the body’s passage from life to death, rooted in vivid imagery and a tone of solemn acceptance. Wagoner’s portrayal of the body as both a vessel of action and a static remnant invites readers to reflect on the relationship between life’s ephemeral vitality and death’s enduring stillness. The poem honors the body’s contributions while acknowledging its inevitable surrender to the forces of nature, leaving behind a legacy of memory and the ever-present reminder of life’s fragility.

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