Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Dorianne Laux’s “Death Comes to Me Again, a Girl” reimagines death not as a grim reaper but as an approachable, almost playful presence. This reconfiguration challenges traditional representations of mortality, inviting readers to reconsider their preconceived notions about the end of life. The poem?s intimate tone, vivid imagery, and paradoxical blend of the eerie and the comforting contribute to its haunting resonance.

Death’s personification as “a girl in a cotton slip” immediately sets the tone for the poem’s subversion of conventional imagery. The cotton slip, a garment associated with innocence and simplicity, contrasts sharply with the heavy and ominous connotations typically linked to death. The barefootedness and giggling add a layer of youthful exuberance, rendering death approachable and even endearing. This portrayal humanizes death, stripping it of its traditional terror and endowing it with a sense of vitality.

The girl speaks to the narrator directly, saying, “It’s not so terrible, not like you think.” This conversational tone softens the concept of death, transforming it from an unfathomable void into an experience suffused with sensory richness. The imagery that follows—“wind chimes and the scent of lemons”—evokes a world alive with sound and fragrance, far from the silence and darkness often associated with death. These details imbue the afterlife with a domestic, almost idyllic quality, bridging the gap between the living and the dead.

The staircase “built from hair and bone” serves as a central metaphor, encapsulating the poem’s paradoxical tension between life and death. Hair and bone, elements of the human body, are reimagined as architectural components, suggesting that death is both a continuation and a transformation of life. The staircase symbolizes a journey or connection, perhaps a passage between the mortal and the immortal, underscoring the idea that death is not an end but a transition.

Laux’s depiction of the dead “listening to the voices of the living” further blurs the boundary between the two realms. This act of eavesdropping implies that the dead remain invested in the world they’ve left behind. The girl’s delight in overhearing fights and songs suggests that human emotion, in all its complexity, is a source of fascination and joy for those who have passed on. This perspective is both unsettling and comforting: unsettling because it implies an inescapable gaze from beyond, comforting because it suggests a continuity of connection.

The poem’s structure mirrors its content. Its short, enjambed lines create a sense of fluidity and movement, mirroring the playful yet transient nature of the girl. The simplicity of the language reinforces the accessibility of death as depicted here, making it feel less alien and more like a natural part of existence. This stylistic choice enhances the poem’s conversational tone, drawing readers into an intimate dialogue with mortality.

The concluding lines, where the girl shakes “the dust from her hair” and expresses her fondness for the living’s fights and songs, encapsulate the poem’s central theme: the coexistence of life and death. The dust symbolizes the residue of life, the physical remnants that linger even in the afterlife. The girl’s enjoyment of human conflict and harmony underscores the richness of earthly existence, suggesting that life’s beauty lies in its imperfections and intensity.

Laux’s “Death Comes to Me Again, a Girl” invites readers to rethink their relationship with mortality. By portraying death as a youthful, almost whimsical presence, the poem demystifies and softens its inevitability. Through its vivid imagery and conversational tone, the poem asserts that death, far from being a void, is a continuation of life’s sensory and emotional tapestry. This reimagining offers not just solace but a renewed appreciation for the fragility and vibrancy of living.

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