Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Dorianne Laux?s "Heart" is an intricate meditation on the human heart’s mercurial nature, offering a series of dynamic and evocative metaphors to depict its shifting forms, moods, and functions. The poem captures the heart as more than a physical organ; it becomes a locus of emotions, desires, and contradictions—a reflection of the complexities of life itself.

The opening lines establish the heart as a shape-shifter, transforming “from bird to ax, from pinwheel / to budded branch.” These images suggest the heart’s capacity for flight and destruction, whimsy and growth. The poem’s initial metaphorical versatility underscores the unpredictability of emotions, as the heart “rolls over in the chest,” a motion likened to a “brown bear groggy with winter.” This image conveys both lethargy and latent power, the heart poised between dormancy and action.

As the poem progresses, the heart assumes roles and identities that reflect various human experiences. It becomes a site of wonder, likened to “a child at the fair,” attracted by the “fireworks booth, the fat lady?s tent, / the corn dog stand.” Here, the heart embodies curiosity and delight, reveling in simple joys. Yet it also becomes an “empty room where the ghosts of the dead / wait,” suggesting a space for mourning and memory. The juxtaposition of these images—playful and somber—highlights the dualities that define the heart’s existence.

Laux’s use of surreal imagery enhances the poem’s exploration of the heart’s abstract nature. The heart contains a labyrinthine series of rooms, each evoking a distinct mood or memory: “Behind one door a roomful of orchids, / behind another, the smell of burned toast.” These rooms symbolize the heart’s compartmentalized experiences, housing beauty, mundanity, and even decay. The heart’s journeys through these spaces reflect the complexities of navigating life’s emotional landscape.

The heart’s autonomy is emphasized as it “does what it wants, takes what it needs.” This depiction acknowledges the uncontrollable nature of feelings and impulses. The heart becomes a restless observer, “watching movies deep into the night” or counting “streetlamps squinting out one by one.” These mundane activities underscore the heart’s ceaseless engagement with the world, even in solitude or boredom.

Laux continues to develop the heart’s multiplicity through a litany of vivid descriptions: “Harmonica heart, heart of tinsel, / heart of cement, broken teeth, redwood fence.” These metaphors suggest fragility, celebration, resilience, and barriers, encapsulating the heart’s diverse capacities. The heart is also imbued with history, described as “etched deep with history?s lists, / things to do.” This detail connects the heart to the weight of personal and collective memory, suggesting that it carries the imprints of past joys and wounds.

The poem crescendos with the heart’s embodiment of societal and personal contradictions: “Homeless heart, dozing, its back against the Dumpster,” contrasts with “Cop-on-the-beat heart with its black billy club, / banging on the lid.” These lines evoke images of vulnerability and authority, the heart’s capacity to suffer and enforce. The inclusion of oppositional roles speaks to the heart’s encompassing nature—it contains multitudes, capable of empathy and indifference, weakness and strength.

In “Heart,” Laux masterfully weaves together disparate images to create a tapestry of human emotion and experience. The heart emerges as a restless, multifaceted entity, simultaneously grounded in physical reality and transcendent in its symbolic significance. By exploring the heart’s many guises, Laux delves into the essence of what it means to feel, to remember, and to live. The poem leaves readers with a resonant understanding of the heart as both an individual and universal force, endlessly adapting to the demands of existence.

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