Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

The poem begins with a stark admission, presenting the "viscous heart" that the speaker hides, a heart that is "gnashing, polluted, hooked to my ribs / like a burr, stuck there and stinging." This powerful imagery sets the tone for the poem, introducing the reader to the speaker's deep-seated pain and self-loathing that lurk beneath the surface. The reference to the time, "only four fourteen in the morning," hints at the isolation and introspection that often accompany the early hours, a time when one's fears and regrets are magnified.

The speaker describes the "daily discipline of shutting away that heart," a routine of emotional suppression and detachment from the pain. The act of "shambling through the house, touching things, / stroking their shapes" suggests an attempt to ground oneself in the physical world, to find solace in the tactile and the tangible amid emotional chaos.

The metaphor of the "Bad Sower's daughter" and the "pit from a seed he sowed and left to parch" alludes to the speaker's feelings of abandonment and worthlessness, a legacy of neglect that has left a deep scar. The speaker's refusal to explain further and the declaration of being "done with it" indicate a desire to move beyond the past, to no longer be defined by it.

However, it is in the context of friendship that the poem finds its heart and its hope. The speaker describes how the simple acts of touching a friend's books, reading their letters, or recalling moments of laughter can seed "the first beat into the heart / I open." This imagery suggests that friendship has the power to revive and nourish the speaker's parched heart, to bring life and warmth to what was once desolate.

The transformation wrought by friendship is further emphasized by the natural imagery of the sun "heaving daylight / into the parched tree by my window." The comparison of the speaker's heart to a parched tree that is revitalized by sunlight mirrors the rejuvenating effect of friendship on the speaker's emotional landscape.

The poem concludes with the speaker "typing" the names of friends into the brick of the windowsill, a gesture that signifies the permanence and significance of these relationships in the speaker's life. The act of "counting their beats" is both a literal reference to typing and a metaphorical reference to the life-sustaining rhythm that friends provide.

"Friends" is a poignant and powerful testament to the healing power of friendship, the capacity for human connection to transform and redeem even the most "polluted" hearts. Through Bosselaar's skillful use of imagery and emotional depth, the poem captures the essence of friendship as a source of strength, renewal, and hope.

POEM TEXT: https://www.cortlandreview.org/issue/33/bosselaar.html

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