Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Naomi Shihab Nye’s "Ongoing" is a reflection on human struggle, the limitations of language, and the contrasting freedom of birds. The poem juxtaposes the weight of human existence—filled with burdens, repetitive conversations, and entrapments—with the effortless movement of birds, whose presence and songs seem to carry a wisdom beyond human understanding. Through simple yet profound imagery, the poem meditates on the need for something beyond words, something that transcends the repetitive cycles of human troubles.

The poem begins with a contrast: "The shape of talk would sag / but the birds be brighter than ever." This sets up the tension between human communication, which feels heavy, exhausted, and ineffective, and the birds, which remain vivid and full of life. The speaker acknowledges a growing reliance on birds as they age: "O I needed the birds worse & worse as I got older / as if some crack had opened in the human scheme of things." The phrase "some crack had opened" suggests a realization—a break in the illusion that human discourse and routines can offer true clarity. The birds, rather than people, become a source of meaning, their "sharp morning notes" carrying an urgency and freshness that human words fail to provide.

The next section shifts to an image of human struggle: "The people went round & round / in the old arenas / dragging their sacks of troubles & stones & jaggedy love." The repetition of "round & round" reinforces the cyclic nature of human problems—people seem to be trapped in patterns of suffering, carrying burdens that they cannot release. The phrase "jaggedy love" suggests that even love, which is often idealized as healing, can be painful, rough-edged, and difficult to carry. The speaker acknowledges their own place among these struggling people: "I could not help them / I was one of them." This admission underscores the poem’s realism—there is no easy escape from the weight of human life.

The next lines critique the way people attempt to navigate their struggles: "The people pitched advice / in its flat hat back & forth across the table." Advice is depicted as something superficial, an object tossed back and forth without real substance or transformative power. The "flat hat" image suggests something worn out, lacking depth, possibly even an allusion to clichés or empty platitudes that do little to change reality.

The poem then turns back to the birds, whose communication is fundamentally different: "But the birds so far above us / hardly complete sentences / just fragments & dashes." Unlike human speech, which attempts to be structured and logical, birdsong is fragmented, instinctive, and beyond human interpretation. This incompleteness, however, does not diminish its power—it suggests that perhaps meaning is not found in structured language but in something more instinctual, something closer to nature.

The speaker imbues the birds with an almost omniscient quality: "The birds who had seen the towns / grow up & topple / who caught the changing wind / before anyone on the ground did." This positions them as silent witnesses to history, capable of sensing change before it happens. Their ability to "leave for Mexico when we were not paying attention" highlights their freedom—unlike humans, who remain tethered to places, obligations, and histories, birds move when they need to, without concern for human boundaries or awareness.

The final lines pose two rhetorical questions: "What could they tell us / about lives in heavy bodies / what could they tell us / about being caught?" These questions emphasize the vast difference between human existence and the existence of birds. Birds do not know the weight of human life, the feeling of being trapped by circumstance, regret, or obligation. They are not burdened by the same struggles that define human experience.

"Ongoing" ultimately suggests that while humans remain caught in cycles of struggle, words, and burdens, birds embody a form of existence that is unburdened, instinctive, and attuned to the natural world. The poem does not romanticize birds as wise teachers but rather positions them as a contrast—reminders of a freedom that humans can observe but not fully share. Through its layered imagery and meditative tone, the poem captures both the heaviness of being human and the fleeting, unreachable lightness of another way of existing.

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