What About the Stuff in Poems?
This reflection focuses on the works of Walt Whitman, Fatimah Asghar, and John Berryman. Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist, who centered his work around realism and transcendentalism. Asghar is a Pakistani, Kashmiri, Muslim-American poet, performer and educator, who enjoys written spoken word poetry. Berryman was an American poet, and scholar, who remains a major figure in American poetry.
In Walt Whitman’s Poem 2 , he mentions: houses, rooms, atmosphere, perfumes, fragrance, himself (‘I’ or ‘me’), you, smoke, breath, echoes, ripples, whispers, silk-thread, vine, heart, blood, air, lungs, leaves, arms, shore, sea-rocks, hay, barn, sound, words, voice, wind, kisses, embraces, shine, shade, trees, streets, fields, hill-sides, bed, sun, health, noon, acres, earth, eyes, books, poems, delight, day, night.
This stuff that Whitman uses in his poem seem to be a mix of natural things like, trees, atmosphere, vine, and man-made things like, barn, houses, rooms, streets. Isolating the stuff from the rest of the poem creates tension between nature and human-made things. It also creates a relationship between nature and humans, like when the author uses ‘I’ or ‘you’ he’s establishing a connection with persons and the natural world around them. Whitman seems to love nature, and it shows in his mentions of the shore, sea-rocks, hill-sides or fields.
Collectively, the stuff Whitman includes in his poem puts one’s senses on overdrive. The stuff in Poem 2 evokes the feeling of a real place in the countryside. A place away from skyscrapers and smog, immersed in the “fragrances” of the country. Whitman mentions “perfumes,” and words that evoke familiar smells and perfumes, like “shore,” “trees,” and “leaves.” Whitman mentions “sound,” and includes stuff that trigger certain familiar sounds, like “echoes,” “ripples,” and “whispers.” With the smells and sounds, and the evocation of familiar places, Whitman creates a scene of serenity. “Poem 2” serves as a device that allows the reader to tap into their senses, and visualize the peaceful place these words evoke.
The stuff in Fatimah Asghar’s “If They Should Come for Us,” are: people, street, shadow, strangers, blood, old woman, sari, wind, bindi, new moon, forehead, I, kin, star, breast, toddler, stroller, hair, fountain, dandelion seed, bakery, sikh uncle, airport, muslim man, car, traffic light, knees, azan, whiskey, maghrib, khala, park, kurta, crocs, compass, gold, teenager, snapback, high-tops, subway platform, country, image, you, me, winter, flock of aunties, sand, dupattas, ocean, colony of uncles, palms, jasmines, constellations, glass, nights, names wood, fire, years, map, sky, light, lantern.
Asghar stuffs her poem with different people, different religions and tradition cultural attire. She includes “sari,” “kurta,” or “dupatta” all examples of traditional clothes. Asghar mentions many religions like, “sikh,” “muslim,” and “khala.” She includes words associated with light, like “stars,” “fire,” and “lantern.” Asghar also mentions tools that help with sense of direction, like “compass,” “map,” and “constellations.” According to the stuff Asghar includes in her poem, she illustrates separate locations, “airport,” “park,” “sand,” “bakery,” and “subway platform” to name a few. The people she invokes are familial and “strangers,” like “uncles” and “aunties” or “old woman” and “toddler.”
Holistically, this stuff sections the different groups of people Asghar may have encountered in different places. She directly points out various locations, however, even in their difference Asghar seems to thread them together like “constellations” and “maps.” This evokes the idea that they’re connected somehow, and that even if they’re separated, they can find their way to each other. Asghar creates a literal map, not based on geography, but based on certain people. She evokes the feeling of togetherness, despite certain differences. She evokes the appreciation and pride of not being the same, but still being connected like “constellations” in the sky. These people are something like a map to her, something that gives her direction and pride, someplace she can find her way to.
In John Berryman’s “Dream Song 14,” he includes: Life, friends, sky, sea, ourselves, mother, me, boy, you, inner resources, peoples, literature, Henry, plights, gripes, achilles, art, hills, gin, dog, tail, mountains.
Berryman stuffs his poem normal life things, like relationships with “friends,” your “mother,” or “peoples.” He mentions normal life occurrences like, “plights,” and “gripes.” Then we’re given serene places like, “hills,” mountains,” and “sea.” He includes things that might entertain, or educate, like “literature,” “achilles” from Greek mythology, and “art.” These all seem to be outwardly relations, objects or places, which he juxtaposes with “inner resources.” The stuff that he mentions all fall under the category of outer resources, there are no mention of inner resources; that is something that is missing.
The poem evokes the feeling of life in a nut shell. There are relationships with other people, there are things to entertain us, there are places to visit, but sometimes there’s something missing from within. Which I think Berryman emphasizes by not mentioning any inner resources in his poem. Somehow the things we encounter don’t fulfill the internal void in a person. This realization evokes a somber, yet eye-opening mood. This is a real internal conflict people experience, the search to satisfy an inner void.
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