Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Paul Muldoon’s poem "Long Finish" is a rich, intricate meditation on marriage, memory, and the tension between longing and loss. Muldoon, known for his dense, allusive poetry, weaves together personal reflections with historical and literary references, creating a tapestry that examines the endurance and complexities of a long-term relationship.

The poem opens with a reflection on ten years of marriage, marked by a chuppah of pine-boughs—a Jewish wedding canopy—set in a pinewood. This setting immediately evokes a sense of natural beauty and tradition, grounding the reader in a moment of commitment that is both sacred and earthy. The mention of marchpane, a sweet almond confection, and Simi Chardonnay, a wine from California’s Sonoma County, adds layers of sensory pleasure, suggesting that the marriage has been sustained by moments of indulgence and shared enjoyment.

As the speaker fills his spouse’s glass "as high as decency allows, and then some," there is an acknowledgment of pushing boundaries, both in terms of pleasure and in the endurance required in marriage. The poem's language—rich in imagery like "hints of plum and pear" and "oak backbone"—parallels the complexity of the wine with the complexity of the relationship. The speaker’s desire is revealed in his "designs on the willow-boss of your breast," but this physical longing is tempered by the awareness of the emotional space "between longing and loss," a recurrent theme throughout the poem.

The "soars and slumps in the Dow" and "summits and sloughs" metaphorically represent the ups and downs of marriage and parenthood, illustrating the fluctuations that the couple has endured. These economic and geographical metaphors highlight the idea that marriage is not a static state but one of continual negotiation and adjustment. The "five years of bitter rapture, five of blissful rows" capture the duality of the experience—both the sweetness and the strife that coexist in a long-term partnership.

As the speaker’s thoughts drift to the "all-but-cleared-up eczema-patch" on his spouse's spine, there is a moment of tenderness intertwined with realism. This detail, mundane yet intimate, serves as a bridge to darker, more violent imagery—a shift from the personal to the historical and collective. The "crude hip-trench in a field, covered with pine-boughs," and the men with "semiautomatics" waiting to ambush a farmer, introduces a jarring contrast. This violent imagery disrupts the domestic tranquility, reminding the reader of the ever-present potential for loss and the fragility of life.

The poem continues to juxtapose personal and historical narratives, drawing a parallel between the couple's endurance and the resilience of those who face violence and hardship, such as the farmer who "breasted the line between longing and loss." The repetition of this phrase underscores its centrality to the poem’s exploration of the human condition—the constant negotiation between desire and the inevitable losses that life imposes.

Muldoon further enriches the poem by referencing Zeami’s "Matsukaze" ("Pining Wind"), a Noh play about two sisters who are haunted by their love for the same man, who has long since died. The sisters’ lives are marked by a continuous cycle of "boiling down brine," a metaphor for their unfulfilled longing. The double meaning of "pine" in both English and Japanese, encompassing both the tree and the act of longing, deepens the poem’s meditation on desire and loss. The ghostly presence of Yukihira, the courtier-poet, as a "ghostly pine, pining among pine-boughs," ties together the natural imagery of the poem with its themes of memory and longing.

The poem’s conclusion, where the speaker’s spouse turns back towards him, her blouse falling "as low as decency allows, and then some," brings the narrative full circle. The final invocation of the "Princess of Accutane," a reference to a medication used to treat severe acne, humorously yet poignantly underscores the imperfections and realities of life. The speaker’s resolve to "rouse ourselves each dawn, here on the shore at Suma," a reference to the location in "Matsukaze", emphasizes the ongoing commitment to their shared life, despite the inevitable mingling of longing and loss.

In "Long Finish," Muldoon masterfully blends the personal with the historical, the intimate with the universal, creating a poem that is both a celebration of endurance and a meditation on the complexity of human relationships. Through his intricate language and layered imagery, Muldoon captures the essence of marriage as a journey that navigates the delicate balance between desire and despair, pleasure and pain, ultimately affirming the resilience required to sustain a lasting bond.

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