Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"I Take My Glasses Off" by Lucille Clifton is a reflective and nuanced poem that explores themes of perception, unity, and the transcendence of binary distinctions. Through the symbolic act of removing her glasses, Clifton delves into the desire to see beyond the "hard edge of things" and the "separations" that define and often divide our understanding of the world. This gesture of taking off her glasses serves as a metaphor for seeking a deeper, more holistic form of vision that blurs the lines between the material and the spiritual, the ordinary and the divine.

The poem opens with an acknowledgment of the desire to avoid "the hard / edge of things," indicating a weariness with the sharpness and clarity that often come with discernment and categorization. Clifton seeks to escape the divisions that such clarity enforces, suggesting a longing for a more fluid and interconnected mode of perception.

By removing her glasses, the speaker willingly enters a state of blurred vision where "i cannot tell / which are the leaves / and which the angels." This inability to distinguish between the natural and the supernatural is not presented as a loss but as a gain. It allows for a vision of the world in which the sacred is immanent in the mundane, where everything is infused with a kind of grace that defies conventional boundaries.

The references to "blake" and "that man / who lived with lepers" allude to individuals who transcended ordinary perception in their lives and work. William Blake, the visionary poet and artist, saw the divine in everyday existence and challenged the materialistic worldview of his time. Similarly, the mention of someone who "lived with lepers" without "noticing what was sin / and what was grace" suggests a figure akin to a saint or a compassionate healer who saw beyond societal stigmas to the inherent worth of all beings. These allusions reinforce the poem's theme of a vision that transcends conventional distinctions between purity and impurity, holiness and sinfulness.

The repetition of the word "vision" in various forms—"visioning visions vision"—emphasizes the transformative power of seeing in this new, unbounded way. It suggests an active, creative engagement with perception, one that seeks to envision a world beyond dualities and limitations.

The final line, "so i can see," underscores the paradox at the heart of the poem: that by blurring the lines of distinction, by embracing a kind of visionary blindness, the speaker attains a deeper, more profound form of sight. This sight is not concerned with the literal or the separable but with the underlying unity and sanctity of all things.

"I Take My Glasses Off" is a meditative and beautifully crafted poem that invites readers to question their own modes of perception and to consider the ways in which clarity and distinction might limit their understanding of the world. Lucille Clifton offers a vision of a more holistic, interconnected reality, where the act of seeing becomes a means of spiritual insight and revelation.

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