Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Lynn Emanuel's poem "The Burial" offers a deeply personal and emotionally complex portrayal of a daughter grappling with the memory and burial of her father. The poem navigates through themes of grief, remembrance, conflict, and reconciliation, using vivid and sometimes stark imagery to convey the weight of these emotions.

The poem begins with a series of actions that set a dramatic and intense atmosphere: stoking a fire, listening to dead composers, observing deer, and reflecting on loneliness. Each of these acts serves to build a mood of introspection and solitude, situating the speaker in a space where the past and present converge. The fire that burns "like fire on amphetamines" and the depiction of deer that tear up the greenery contribute to a scene filled with energy and destruction, mirroring the turmoil in the speaker’s emotions.

Emanuel skillfully weaves natural and artistic imagery to delve into memories of her father. The transition from observing the deer to recalling her father is mediated through a chain of associations—antlers reminiscent of snail's eyes, which in turn recall the eyes-on-stems in Picasso’s faces. This method of linking memories and images captures the nonlinear way grief and memory often function, pulling us from one thought to another, sometimes unexpectedly.

The core of the poem deals directly with the act of burial, an act depicted not just as a physical burying of a body but as an emotional process for the speaker. The description of being in "the hold of a big ship" and the "dark sleep of a huge freighter" symbolizes a journey both literal and metaphorical, transporting the speaker toward a final confrontation and reconciliation with her father.

The struggle with her father is compared to the biblical story of Jacob wrestling with the angel, suggesting a relationship marked by conflict and transformation. Her father’s emergence from the grave, panting "beside his grave like a large dog who has run a long way," is a powerful image of struggle and exhaustion, encapsulating the enduring and exhaustive nature of their emotional battles.

As the poem concludes, the act of burial is rendered with poignant and chilling clarity. The shovel, "an instrument for organizing the world," suggests control and finality, yet the description of her father, thin and coatless, evokes vulnerability and pathos. The speaker’s mixed feelings—her care in writing a note to accompany him, juxtaposed with her recognition of him as her "greatest enemy"—reveal the deep complexities of their relationship.

Ultimately, "The Burial" is a meditation on the ways we come to terms with the death of those who have profoundly impacted us, for better or worse. Emanuel captures the ambivalence of feeling bound to someone by blood and history, yet divided by unresolved conflict. The poem navigates the painful yet necessary process of letting go, not only of the person but of the tumultuous emotions tied to them. It’s a stark, vivid exploration of how we bury our dead and, in doing so, how we seek to find peace with our past.

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