Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

William Stanley Merwin's poem "This Day of This Month of This Year of This" is a densely layered exploration of time, identity, and the inescapable presence of death. The poem delves into the existential struggle to assert one's existence in the face of overwhelming uncertainty and the passage of time. Through fragmented imagery, repeated motifs, and a stream-of-consciousness style, Merwin conveys the profound and often disorienting experience of living in a world where the boundaries between life, death, and memory blur.

The title itself, "This Day of This Month of This Year of This," emphasizes the immediacy of the present moment, yet it also suggests a certain ambiguity or even futility in trying to pin down time. The repetition of "This" underscores the elusive nature of the present, as if each moment is just a fleeting part of an endless continuum that defies concrete definition.

The poem opens with the speaker's attempt to "persuade today that it's / Here," reflecting a struggle to ground oneself in the present. The use of the word "persuade" suggests that the present moment is not readily accepted or acknowledged, highlighting a disconnection between the speaker and their own experience of time. This disconnection is further emphasized in the lines "My Love / Outlined in knives," where the speaker's love is associated with sharpness and pain, suggesting that even intimate emotions are fraught with difficulty.

As the speaker traces a figure with an "Opened finger," the poem's imagery becomes more surreal. The "eye / Of my thumb is awake" conveys a heightened awareness, a sense of being acutely alive yet also unnervingly detached from reality. This disjunction is echoed in the repeated question "Is not This your home where are you / Is not this Your home," where the concept of home—usually a place of safety and belonging—becomes uncertain and elusive.

The chaotic and fragmented imagery continues with "Drunks on the compass feathers on the floor," creating a sense of disorientation. The mention of "the river flows around our suitcases" and "the light shakes the buildings" suggests a world in flux, where nothing is stable or permanent. This instability is mirrored in the references to societal structures—"schools on this block" and "Easter the phantom hounds the Holy Rollers"—which appear as fragile and inconsistent as the streets that "give / Cry give cry all the time."

The poem touches on themes of violence and death, particularly in the lines "Where the months are shot at midnight by / A cop in civvies in a dark car on a side street." This image evokes a sense of sudden, arbitrary violence, further contributing to the poem's atmosphere of unease and unpredictability. The mention of the speaker's birth coming "upon me" reinforces the inescapability of time and the inevitability of death, as if one's life is marked by a continuous cycle of arrival and departure.

As the poem progresses, the speaker expresses a desire to "declare myself," to assert their identity amidst the chaos and uncertainty. The repetition of "I want" indicates a yearning for clarity, connection, and purpose, yet these desires are continually undermined by the pervasive presence of death and loss. The image of "Her name is now wherever she is" suggests a longing for a lost or absent lover, whose presence is as elusive as the present moment itself.

The poem's closing lines bring together the recurring motifs of death, emptiness, and the passage of time. The speaker's heart is described as a "Lantern of ice," symbolizing both the fragility and the coldness of their existence. The final image of "her shoes / Hanging In the clock" ties together the themes of time and mortality, as if the passage of time is marked by the remnants of a lost presence, dangling within the relentless ticking of the clock.

"This Day of This Month of This Year of This" is a powerful meditation on the fragility of life, the inevitability of death, and the difficulty of finding meaning in a world that is constantly shifting and dissolving. Through its fragmented structure and haunting imagery, the poem captures the disorienting experience of trying to live fully in the present while being constantly reminded of the transience of existence. Merwin's work invites readers to reflect on their own relationship with time, memory, and mortality, urging them to consider how they navigate the complexities of life in the face of the unknown.

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