Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"The Sheds of Our Webs" by Charles Bernstein is a contemplative piece that weaves together themes of time, memory, and the elusive nature of existence. Through evocative imagery and a nuanced exploration of language, Bernstein invites the reader into a reflective space where the transient and the permanent intersect. The poem's title itself, with its reference to "sheds" and "webs," suggests themes of shedding or casting off, as well as the intricate connections and constructions that define our lives.

The opening line, "Floating on completely vested time, a lacrity," introduces the poem's preoccupation with the concept of time—time that is "completely vested," suggesting both fullness and a certain inescapability. The unusual term "lacrity" (presumably a play on "alacrity") introduces a sense of brisk eagerness juxtaposed against the floating, aimless passage of time, setting the tone for a poem that dwells in the paradoxes of human experience.

"To which abandon skirts another answer / Or part of but not returned" delves into the theme of abandonment and the search for answers that are never fully realized or returned. This sense of incomplete resolution and the perpetual seeking of understanding are central to the poem's exploration of the human condition.

The imagery of being "Confined to snare, the sumpter portion / Rolls misty ply on foxglove," evokes a sense of entrapment and the burdens we carry, symbolized by the "sumpter" or beast of burden. The mention of "foxglove," a plant that is both beautiful and poisonous, further complicates the imagery, introducing themes of danger and allure, the natural world's dual capacity for healing and harm.

Bernstein's reference to "plentitude of timorous / Lair, in fact will build around / It" suggests a once-abundant but now tentative refuge that has been constructed—perhaps a metaphor for the constructs of identity or understanding that we build around ourselves, which are at once protective and confining.

"Shores that glide me, a / Tender for unkeeping, when fit with / Sticks embellish empty throw" conjures the image of a journey or passage, with the self as both vessel and cargo, navigating through experiences that are held tenderly yet destined for "unkeeping," or letting go. The act of embellishing "empty throw" with sticks could symbolize the human impulse to imbue our fleeting actions and moments with significance, even as we acknowledge their impermanence.

The closing lines, "Days, after / All, which heave at having had," encapsulate the poem's meditation on the weight of past experiences—the "having had"—that continue to shape and "heave" within us, even as we move through the present. This recognition of the past's enduring presence and influence underscores the poem's contemplation of time, memory, and the cyclical nature of existence.

Overall, "The Sheds of Our Webs" is a lyrically rich and philosophically layered poem that invites readers to reflect on the complexities of time, the inevitability of change, and the ways in which we navigate the webs of connection and disconnection that define our lives. Through its intricate imagery and thoughtful exploration of language, Bernstein offers a nuanced meditation on the interplay between the ephemeral and the enduring, the lost and the found, the shed and the woven.

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