Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton’s poem "Small Wire" is a delicate exploration of faith and love, rendered through simple yet evocative imagery. The poem meditates on the tenuousness of belief, comparing it to fragile, everyday objects that nonetheless sustain life and hope. Through her use of metaphors and a tone that blends reverence with intimacy, Sexton delves into the nature of faith, suggesting that even the smallest gestures of belief or love are enough to connect with the divine.

The poem opens with the assertion that the speaker's faith is "a great weight / hung on a small wire." This image immediately evokes a sense of fragility and precariousness, as if the speaker's entire belief system is balanced on something as thin and insubstantial as a wire. The metaphor suggests that faith, while potentially immense in its significance, often rests on something seemingly delicate or vulnerable. This idea is reinforced through subsequent comparisons, such as the spider hanging "her baby on a thin web" and the vine holding up grapes "like eyeballs." These images connect the act of faith with natural, everyday occurrences, emphasizing that even the most fragile structures can sustain life.

Sexton continues to build on this theme of fragility by introducing the idea that "many angels / dance on the head of a pin." This reference to the medieval theological question about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin further underscores the poem's exploration of the delicate balance of faith. Here, the infinite (angels) is balanced on the infinitesimal (a pinhead), mirroring how the speaker's faith is supported by something as thin as a wire. The juxtaposition of the vast and the minute highlights the paradoxical nature of belief: something seemingly insubstantial can support immense spiritual weight.

The poem then shifts to a more intimate tone as Sexton suggests that "God does not need / too much wire to keep Him there." The image of God being sustained by a "thin vein, / with blood pushing back and forth in it" transforms the abstract idea of faith into something physical and visceral. The mention of blood flowing through a vein connects faith to the very essence of life, suggesting that belief is as vital and natural as the circulation of blood. This metaphor humanizes the divine, bringing God closer to the speaker and the reader, as something intimately tied to the human experience.

The poem concludes with a reflection on love, paralleling it with faith. Sexton writes, "As it has been said: / Love and a cough / cannot be concealed. / Even a small cough. / Even a small love." This aphorism, which equates love and a cough in their irrepressibility, emphasizes the idea that even small acts of love, like small acts of faith, have significance. The comparison to a cough—a small, involuntary action—suggests that love, like faith, is something that cannot be hidden or suppressed, no matter how minor it might seem.

Sexton's final lines, "God does not mind. He will enter your hands / as easily as ten cents used to / bring forth a Coke," bring the poem to a close with a blend of the sacred and the mundane. The image of God entering one's hands as easily as buying a Coke with ten cents is striking in its simplicity. It suggests that connecting with the divine does not require grand gestures or elaborate rituals; instead, it can happen in the most ordinary of moments. The reference to a time when ten cents could buy a Coke adds a nostalgic layer, evoking a sense of simplicity and accessibility in both faith and love.

In "Small Wire," Anne Sexton offers a meditation on the nature of faith and love, emphasizing their inherent fragility yet enduring strength. Through her use of everyday imagery and a tone that oscillates between reverence and intimacy, Sexton suggests that even the smallest gestures of belief and affection are powerful enough to sustain a connection with the divine. The poem ultimately portrays faith not as something grand or unshakeable, but as a delicate, persistent force that endures despite its fragility.

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