Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Taking a Crack at It" by Stephen Dobyns is a darkly evocative poem that presents a dystopian vision of society, marked by decay, disillusionment, and a pervasive sense of foreboding. Through vivid imagery and stark metaphors, Dobyns captures a world where despair and resignation have seeped into the very fabric of life, reflecting broader themes of societal breakdown and the loss of hope.

The poem opens with a striking image: "We have discovered dark paint for the sky." This metaphor sets the tone for the entire piece, suggesting a deliberate obscuring or darkening of the heavens, symbolizing a loss of hope and a tainted perspective on the world. The mention of rats hiding in sewers and refusing what humans leave behind further emphasizes a society in decline, where even the scavengers reject the remnants of human existence.

In Washington, the disintegration of time itself is depicted through the image of a man breaking up the days of the week, "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday." This could symbolize the fragmentation of structure and order in governance or societal operations, further underlining the chaos and dysfunction of the setting. The man being described as "smaller than necessary" suggests insignificance or a diminished capacity, possibly reflecting on leadership or the individual's sense of powerlessness.

As the poem progresses, Dobyns portrays a world overflowing with words that are ineffective and futile, as they "rise above our ankles." This flood of words might represent the overwhelming but ineffectual discourse on the state of affairs, where much is said but little changes. The man who remembers flowers and hurries to share this memory with others who will not remain his friends captures a fleeting moment of beauty and nostalgia in a transient and untrustworthy social environment.

The directive to "Make the walls ready. Board over the windows" conveys a sense of impending doom or the need for protection against external threats. The notion that even if the windows were open, "the sun would reject them," reinforces the theme of rejection and alienation from natural and possibly divine grace.

The search for clean water leading to finding people throwing themselves into it is a powerful and despairing image, suggesting contamination and the extremes to which people are driven by desperation. The preference for stones, which "sink to the bottom," over the uncertainty of survival in such an environment speaks to a profound loss of faith in any prospect of redemption or recovery.

Dobyns closes the poem with an introspective look at the collective self-imposed isolation: "We have shut ourselves into our eyes and shut our eyes after us." This suggests a wilful blindness or refusal to see, accompanied by a cessation of vigilance or awareness, as "Nobody's watching." The final lines, describing people rocking themselves in a "cat's cradle of compromise and silence," poignantly capture the resignation and passive complicity in the face of overwhelming decay and moral collapse.

"Taking a Crack at It" is a stark, powerful meditation on societal decline and human despair, weaving together themes of environmental degradation, social disconnection, and existential crisis. Through this bleak landscape, Dobyns challenges the reader to confront the consequences of inaction and the ease with which one can become complicit in the deterioration of the surrounding world.

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