Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Donald Justice’s "My South: 2. At the Cemetery" is a poignant exploration of memory, nature, and stillness, set against the backdrop of a Southern cemetery. Through rich imagery and contemplative language, Justice captures a moment of profound reflection and the quiet, almost eerie presence of life and death coexisting.

The poem begins with a striking image: "Above the fence-flowers, like a bloody thumb, / A hummingbird is throbbing…." This vivid comparison of the hummingbird to a "bloody thumb" immediately draws attention to the intense and almost unsettling beauty of the scene. The hummingbird’s rapid movement is contrasted with the stillness of the flowers, whose "petals take motion from the beaten wings / In hardly observable obscure quiverings." This juxtaposition of motion and stillness sets the tone for the poem, highlighting the delicate balance between life and death.

Justice then shifts focus to the speaker’s mother: "My mother stands there, but so still her clothing / Seems to have settled into stone, nothing / To animate her face, nothing to read there." The mother's stillness is so profound that she appears almost statuesque, as if she has become part of the cemetery’s stone monuments. This imagery emphasizes the depth of her contemplation and the weight of her presence in this place of memory and mourning.

The next lines, "O plastic rose O clouds O still cedar!" evoke the inanimate objects that surround her, each representing a different element of the cemetery’s landscape. The plastic rose symbolizes artificial beauty and permanence, the clouds signify the ever-changing and ephemeral nature of life, and the cedar tree stands for steadfastness and continuity. These elements contribute to the atmosphere of stillness and reflection.

The mother’s prolonged stillness is noted: "She stands this way for a long time while the sky / Ponders her with its great Medusa-eye." This powerful metaphor likens the sky to Medusa, whose gaze could turn onlookers to stone. This comparison underscores the profound and almost paralyzing nature of grief and memory, suggesting that the mother is caught in a moment of deep, immobilizing contemplation.

The poem concludes with the movement of a snake: "And then a / Slow blacksnake, lazy with long sunning, slides / Down from its slab, and through the thick grass, and hides / Somewhere among the purpling wild verbena." The snake’s leisurely movement through the cemetery introduces a sense of life continuing amidst the stillness of the graves. The snake, often a symbol of rebirth and transformation, contrasts with the inertness of the mother and the artificial rose, suggesting a subtle undercurrent of life and renewal even in a place associated with death.

"My South: 2. At the Cemetery" by Donald Justice is a deeply reflective poem that captures a moment of stillness and contemplation in a Southern cemetery. Through vivid imagery and thoughtful language, Justice explores themes of memory, grief, and the interplay between life and death. The poem’s powerful metaphors and rich descriptions invite readers to consider the complex emotions associated with mourning and the enduring presence of nature in spaces of remembrance.

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