Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Lynn Emanuel's poem "Like God" offers a profound meditation on the act of reading and the reader's immersive experience in the narrative world. The poem intricately explores how one becomes entangled with the characters, settings, and events of a story, emphasizing the omnipresent yet participatory role of the reader who shapes and is shaped by the text.

The opening lines of the poem establish a bird's-eye view, with the reader positioned as an omnipotent observer: "you hover above the page staring down on a small town." This god-like perspective immediately highlights the reader’s control over the engagement with the story, able to see all yet remain detached. However, Emanuel quickly complicates this detachment by introducing elements that demand more personal engagement, such as "a mongrel loping" and "a train approaching the station in three long sentences." These vivid, dynamic images pull the reader closer to the action, transitioning from an observer to a participant.

Emanuel deepens this engagement by declaring, "But you know this story about the galoshes is really About Your Life." This direct statement transforms the act of reading from passive observation to an introspective journey, suggesting that the narratives we encounter are mirrors reflecting our own experiences and emotions. The reader is likened to a diver, plunging "sentence by sentence, into this story on this page," an act that underscores the depth and complexity of entering a narrative world.

As the poem progresses, the reader encounters various characters—each a potential avatar or a fragment of the reader's persona in the literary universe. Emanuel introduces a "woman who purrs by in a dress by Patou," a "porter manacled to the luggage," and a "man stalking across the page like a black cloud in a bad mood." These characters are not merely figures in the story but are seen as "fellow travelers" with whom the reader shares a journey, blurring the lines between the self and the other, the real and the fictional.

The reader's deepening involvement with the story is depicted through choices that aren't really choices, as if the narrative itself guides the reader's path: "No, you would prefer another stop in a later chapter where the climate is affable and sleek." This line reflects the desire for control within the narrative journey, yet it also highlights the inherent limitations of such control, as the story unfolds in ways that might not align with the reader’s preferences.

By the end of the poem, Emanuel encapsulates the dual nature of reading as both an omnipotent overseer and a captive participant: "the story of the person-who-had-to-take-the-train-and-walk-the-dark-road described hurriedly by someone sitting at the tavern so you could discover it, although you knew all along the road would be there." This passage reveals the paradox of reading: the reader is at once the creator and the discoverer, preordained yet surprised, powerful yet vulnerable.

"Like God" is a compelling exploration of the metaphysical relationship between a reader and a book. Emanuel masterfully illustrates how narratives engage us, transform us, and in some profound way, become parts of us. The poem invites readers to reflect on their own reading experiences, the characters they have lived as, and the worlds they have inhabited, underscoring the transcendent power of literature to shape and enrich our understanding of ourselves and the world.

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