Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

John Frederick Nims’ "Alchemy" delivers a succinct and cutting meditation on war, power, and transformation, using the metaphor of alchemy—the ancient and mythical practice of turning base metals into gold—as a lens through which to critique the military and its glorification of violence. The poem, structured as a single quatrain, employs a controlled, ironic tone, playing on the idea that war, in a perverse and brutal sense, achieves the kind of transformation that alchemists sought.

The opening question, "Turn lead to gold? Some can." immediately establishes the poem’s metaphor: lead, the material of bullets, becomes gold, the material of medals, wealth, and honor. The phrase "Some can" carries an air of resigned acknowledgment, implying that a select group of individuals—likely military leaders or politicians—have mastered this grim transmutation. The abruptness of the statement suggests a cold acceptance of a process that should be viewed with horror rather than awe.

The second line, "We’d all allow / A number of glittering generals have learned how," sharpens the critique. "We’d all allow" conveys a reluctant agreement, as if the truth of this transformation is so obvious it need not be debated. The phrase "glittering generals" is pointedly ironic—while generals may shine with medals, their brilliance is stained by the suffering that enabled it. The juxtaposition of "glittering" with the grim realities of war suggests that military glory is an illusion, a deceptive veneer masking the destruction that underpins it.

The third and fourth lines deepen the irony. "Lead that in younger breasts their zeal had sown / Turned to these golden honors on their own." Here, "lead" is explicitly linked to bullets, which are metaphorically "sown" in the bodies of young soldiers—an image that evokes both agricultural planting and the brutal reality of war. The phrase "their zeal had sown" suggests that these young soldiers went to battle filled with patriotic fervor or ideological commitment, only to become casualties. The real alchemy, then, is not mystical but brutal: their sacrifice yields "golden honors"—not for themselves, but for their commanding officers, who reap the rewards of their deaths.

The poem’s rhyme scheme (AABB) contributes to its sharpness, reinforcing its epigrammatic quality. The tightly controlled meter and compact form mirror the efficiency of the war machine itself—precise, orderly, and devastating in its consequences. The use of enjambment in the final line, "Turned to these golden honors on their own," creates an effect of inevitability, as if this transformation is a natural, self-sustaining process rather than a deliberate system of exploitation.

Ultimately, "Alchemy" is a cynical meditation on how war turns human sacrifice into prestige. Nims exposes the dark transformation by which the deaths of young soldiers translate into the career advancement of their superiors, showing that, in a grotesque sense, alchemy exists—but only in the service of power, at the cost of lives. The poem’s brevity and wit make its critique all the more devastating, encapsulating in four lines the entire tragic economy of war.

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