Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Albert Goldbarth's "Suitcase Song" is a meditation on the hidden parts of our lives, the secrets we carry, and the ultimate, often unavoidable, revelation of those secrets. Through a blend of personal anecdotes and vivid imagery, Goldbarth explores the themes of mortality, confession, and the complexity of human existence.

The poem begins with a clandestine arrangement between Phil and John-O. Phil entrusts John-O with a key to his apartment and a crucial task: if Phil dies suddenly, John-O must retrieve and dispose of a brown suitcase. This suitcase symbolizes the hidden aspects of Phil’s life that he wishes to protect his family from. The secrecy and urgency surrounding the suitcase emphasize the weight of what it contains, hinting at personal and possibly shameful truths that Phil cannot bear to leave exposed.

Goldbarth then expands this theme, suggesting that everyone has their own version of the "brown suitcase": "Do you have yours? / I have mine." This question invites readers to reflect on their own hidden truths and the lengths they might go to protect those secrets. The narrative shifts to Sasha’s sister on her deathbed, who, in her final moments, releases a torrent of confessional invective. This dramatic outburst illustrates how the approach of death can force hidden truths to the surface, regardless of one's desire to keep them concealed.

The poem's imagery intensifies with the description of a tornado hitting downtown businesses, scattering personal and intimate items across counties. The chaotic scene, with "handwritten notes, hotel receipts, e-mail transcripts, smeary Polaroids," and even sex toys, serves as a metaphor for the uncontrolled exposure of private lives. The mention of a pleasure aid killing a cow adds a darkly humorous yet poignant touch, highlighting the randomness and absurdity of how secrets can be revealed.

Goldbarth then reflects on another dying individual, possibly suffering from AIDS, who carries an untold story within him. This unnamed person, described as "a stick of human chalk," embodies the fragility and impermanence of life. The narrator’s interaction with him suggests that every person is a narrative, with the strength of that narrative lying in either revelation or withholding.

The poem circles back to the narrator’s personal experience with his mother's death. In a nursing home garden lush with summer life, the mother’s gradual disappearance is juxtaposed with the vibrancy of the surroundings: "the wink of pollen in the light. The birds. Their feather-lice. The bursting spores." These images of life continue unabated, indifferent to the mother's slow fading. The poem concludes with a powerful metaphor: "Those opened-up / cicada husks abandoned on the patio / —the small, brown, unlocked luggage / that’s completed its work in this world." The cicada husks symbolize the remnants of life, the physical shells left behind once the essence has departed, paralleling the idea of the brown suitcase and the secrets it held.

"Suitcase Song" by Albert Goldbarth masterfully intertwines the personal with the universal, exploring how secrets shape our lives and how death, in its inexorable approach, can expose those secrets. Through vivid, often startling imagery, Goldbarth captures the tension between the need to protect one's private truths and the inevitability of their revelation. The poem invites readers to consider their own hidden narratives and the legacies they will leave behind.

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