Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Irving Feldman's poem "The Dream" delves into the complex emotions surrounding the loss of a mother, weaving a meditation on familial love, guilt, and the interruption of sacred moments by earthly desires. The poem opens with the narrator recalling a dream where his deceased mother is found alive, revealing a deep psychological exploration of grief and unfinished emotional business.

The poem begins with a vivid, unsettling scenario: "Once, years after your death, I dreamt / you were alive and that I'd found you / living once more in the old apartment." The familiar setting of the old apartment, where memories are rooted, becomes a place where the mother returns to life. The narrator's discovery of his mother is juxtaposed with an act of betrayal, as he admits, "But I had taken a woman up there / to make love to in the empty rooms." This stark contrast between life and death, familial love and carnal desire, creates a tension that permeates the poem.

The narrator feels a mix of anger and guilt toward his mother, who had "borne and loved me / and because of whom I believe in heaven." Despite his reverence for his mother and belief in the afterlife she symbolizes, the narrator regrets her return, saying to himself, "For godsakes, what was the big rush, / couldn't she wait one more day?" This almost bitter response captures the conflict between the sacred bond with his mother and his earthly desires. The narrator's longing for just one more day reveals a selfishness that he simultaneously acknowledges and resents.

Feldman extends this personal moment to a universal meditation on spiritual longing and human weakness: "And just so daily somewhere Messiah / is shunned like a beggar at the door because / someone has something he wants to finish / or just something better to do." Here, the Messiah represents divine intervention or salvation, but he is consistently turned away because people prioritize mundane pleasures or tasks. This rejection of the Messiah reflects the human tendency to delay transcendence for immediate gratification.

The poem continues with a litany of excuses for postponing spiritual fulfillment: "some little pleasure so deeply wished / that Heaven's coming has to seem bad luck / or worse, God's intruding selfishness!" The phrasing emphasizes the irony of how the divine, meant to bring joy, can feel like an unwanted disruption to the everyday comforts and routines.

Feldman brings the focus back to the mother, who "always turned Messiah away / with a penny and a cake for his trouble." Despite her generosity, she is too preoccupied with earthly duties—"because wash had to be done, because / who could let dinner boil over and burn"—to fully embrace the divine. Her commitment to family life takes precedence over spiritual devotion. This prioritization of domestic responsibilities is not condemned but rather portrayed as a reflection of the human condition.

The poem concludes by acknowledging the mother's desire to maintain joy and order for her family: "because everything had to be festive for / your husband, your daughters, your son." Her sacrificial love and dedication to her family are celebrated even as they illustrate the compromises that define everyday life. The mother’s routine acts of care and devotion become a testament to her love, though they also highlight how earthly commitments often overshadow spiritual aspirations.

Structurally, the poem is a continuous narrative without stanzas, reflecting the flow of thoughts and emotions that arise from the dream. The tone is reflective and intimate, allowing readers to engage deeply with the narrator's internal conflict. Feldman’s use of enjambment carries the momentum of each thought forward, adding to the poem’s sense of urgency and emotional complexity.

Overall, "The Dream" is a poignant exploration of the tension between spiritual longing and earthly desires. Irving Feldman masterfully uses the dream motif to reveal the layers of guilt, love, and regret that accompany the loss of a loved one. The poem captures the universality of prioritizing immediate comforts over spiritual fulfillment, offering a meditation on the struggle between the sacred and the mundane in the human experience.

POEM TEXT: https://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php%3Fdate=2008%252F03%252F23.html

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