Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Poem by the Wellside" by Meena Alexander is a vivid exploration of identity, memory, and the complexities of the female experience. This poem interweaves imagery of the body, nature, and ancestral voices to create a tapestry of longing and self-discovery. The speaker grapples with her connection to her past and her homeland, symbolized by the well and the figure of the old hag, while also confronting the realities of her present existence in a "cold country."

The well serves as a central metaphor in the poem, representing both a source of life and a reflection of the self. The image of the speaker as a child seeing her face in the well water suggests a moment of self-recognition and connection to her roots. However, this moment is disrupted by the appearance of the old hag, who embodies the ancestral voices and the burdens of history and tradition. Her cry of "Meena! Meena, my daughter!" is a call to the speaker's heritage and a reminder of her origins.

The poem's focus on the body — "Body, you're a stranger here" — and the descriptions of physical attributes like "stippled flesh" and "dry worn belly" convey a sense of alienation from one's own physicality, perhaps due to displacement or the dissonance between one's internal and external worlds. The references to herbs like chamomile, rue, and heliotrope suggest a connection to healing and nature but also hint at pain and bitterness ("the blue of heliotrope is bitter; rue, its stalks plucked from my dreams").

The speaker's declaration that her "poem made in a cold country is not about death" emphasizes her resistance to despair and her determination to find meaning and sustenance in her life ("I am hungry, old woman, I must live!"). This resilience is juxtaposed with the haunting voice of the old woman, symbolizing the weight of poverty, cultural displacement, and the loss inherent in migration ("women from a poor country").

"Poem by the Wellside" delves into the complexities of cultural identity, the struggle to reconcile one's past with one's present, and the continuous search for self amidst the changing landscapes of life. The wellside, as a space of reflection and confrontation, becomes a site where dreams, memories, and realities collide, leaving the speaker to navigate the interplay of these forces in her quest for self-understanding and expression.

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