Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"First Night" by David Ferry is an evocative poem that delves into themes of fear, mortality, and the existential anxieties that accompany the transition from one year to another. Through a blend of vivid imagery and repeated refrains, Ferry constructs a landscape that is both hauntingly familiar and unsettlingly surreal, serving as a metaphor for the human psyche confronting its own inevitable end.

The poem opens with a series of fragmented images: "A stump. A post. An effigy not made / As yet. A toe. A toe in the icy waters." These images are stark and somewhat disjointed, suggesting incomplete formation or a beginning that is both literal and metaphorical. The "effigy not made" implies something impending but not yet realized, possibly referring to one's own unformed fears or future self. The toe dipping into icy waters could symbolize a tentative encounter with something vast and unknown, like the new year or the unknown expanse of one's future or mortality.

As the poem progresses, the setting becomes a house—a common metaphor for the self or soul—with a slightly open door and mysterious, ominous sounds from the next room and beneath the house. "What flows underneath our house?" This line heightens the sense of underlying dread and the unknown forces that underpin our everyday lives, potentially the subconscious or unacknowledged fears.

The refrain "Timor mortis conturbat me" (Latin for "the fear of death disturbs me") is strategically placed throughout the poem, punctuating the narrative with a choral reminder of the poem’s central theme. This line, drawn from medieval Latin liturgy, connects the personal fear of death with a historical and almost universal human anxiety, deepening the poem's contemplative tone.

The description of the "First night" as a time devoid of light but filled with cold, where "Numb fingers play the instruments," conveys a sense of involuntary response to the environment. This could be interpreted as the human condition in the face of mortality—numb, yet somehow still responsive, trying to make sense or music out of the incomprehensible.

"Down in the street a little horn is tooting" and "Cold fog in the throat" bring the experience back to a more urban, familiar setting, perhaps hinting at life continuing outside despite the internal crisis. The attempt to "clear the throat, a new beginning" suggests an effort to confront or articulate these fears, to begin anew despite the burdens.

The poem closes with more cosmic imagery: "The whole sky wheels above the starry treetop / That is the sleeping city's dreaming head." This provides a larger, almost celestial perspective on the individual's fears, reflecting on the vastness of life and the cycles of time. The inclusion of a child's bedtime prayer, "If I should die before I wake / I pray the Lord my soul to take," not only highlights the vulnerability and the childlike nature of our deepest fears but also connects the personal to the collective human concern with mortality.

Overall, "First Night" by David Ferry is a profound reflection on the fears that haunt human existence, particularly our fear of death. The poem skillfully uses a combination of personal, urban, and cosmic imagery to explore these themes, making it a rich and layered text that invites readers to confront their own vulnerabilities as they stand on the threshold of time, looking both backwards to what has been and forward to what is yet to come.

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