Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Eleanor Wilner's "Miriam's Song" presents a complex and poignant reflection on the biblical story of Miriam, the sister of Moses, whose actions and subsequent memories are deeply intertwined with themes of sacrifice, survival, and historical continuity. The poem revisits the well-known tale of Moses being saved from the waters of the Nile by his sister Miriam, and it expands upon the emotional and moral implications of that act.

The opening lines of the poem, "Death to the first-born sons, always— / the first fruits to the gods of men," establish a somber tone, referencing the ancient practice of offering first-born sons to appease gods, a tradition of sacrifice that haunts the narrative. This alludes to the final plague in Egypt, where the first-born sons were killed, except for those in homes marked with lamb's blood. Wilner sets up a dichotomy between the personal and the communal, between Miriam’s individual act of saving her brother and the broader narrative of divine retribution and deliverance.

Miriam’s initial act of placing Moses in the basket on the Nile is depicted with maternal urgency and desperation. She stands "in the reeds back then, the current / tugging at her skirt like hands," portraying her as deeply connected to the life-giving and perilous river. The act of saving Moses is presented not as a grand gesture but as a desperate and necessary one, driven by the need to preserve her family line and the hope of a promised land.

The narrative shifts to years later, to the night of the Passover, when Miriam experiences deep grief for the Egyptian mothers mourning their lost sons. This moment of empathy and sorrow highlights her internal conflict and the heavy cost of survival. The "gray angel, like the smoke trail / of a dying comet," symbolizes the inexorable and tragic passage of death through Egypt, and Miriam’s sorrow is palpable as she contemplates the suffering caused by divine intervention.

In a symbolic gesture of relinquishment, Miriam places an empty basket on the Nile, weighted down with stones until it sinks. This act can be interpreted as a relinquishment of hope, a mourning for lost innocence, or a ritual of closure. The basket, which once carried the future in the form of her baby brother, now carries only stones, a tangible representation of grief and resignation.

The poem concludes with an evocative image of Miriam by the river, haunted by the past. The river, with its "willows hang," symbolizes both memory and mourning. She listens to the "heavy tread of armies," hinting at the cyclical nature of history and conflict, and she envisions the Pharaoh's daughter saving Moses, a moment filled with irony and tenderness. The image of Moses as a "pretty boy / and so disarming, as his dimpled hands reach up, / his mouth already open for the breast," humanizes the monumental figure of Moses and underscores the vulnerability and innocence at the heart of this epic story.

Wilner’s poem thus engages with the mythic and historical dimensions of Miriam’s story, transforming it into a meditation on sacrifice, survival, and the enduring complexities of human emotion and memory. Through vivid imagery and nuanced emotion, "Miriam's Song" invites readers to consider the profound personal costs behind the biblical narrative of deliverance and the ways in which history is both lived and remembered.

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