Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Linda Pastan's "Ode to Lysenko" is a reflective and ironic meditation on the notion of inherited traits, inspired by the controversial ideas of Trofim Lysenko, a Soviet biologist who rejected Mendelian genetics in favor of a theory that acquired characteristics could be inherited. The poem explores the tantalizing idea of perfectibility through successive generations, drawing on the whimsical and imaginative logic of Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories" while also questioning the implications of such a worldview.

The poem begins with a playful hypothetical: "Couldn't it be like a Just So Story: the giraffe reaches for the highest, most succulent leaf, stretching and stretching its neck to get there, and its children are born with necks the height of the Eiffel Tower." This reference to Kipling's tales, which humorously explain how animals acquired their distinctive features, sets the tone for the poem. The giraffe's neck, a classic example in evolutionary biology, is reimagined here through the lens of Lysenko's theory—where the physical efforts of one generation directly shape the bodies of the next. The exaggerated image of giraffes with necks "the height of the Eiffel Tower" adds a touch of absurdity, highlighting the fantastical nature of this idea while also reflecting on humanity's desire for such straightforward progress and inheritance.

The poem then moves to more personal examples: "And because I studied my French conjugations so diligently, couldn't my children be born with a special knowledge of the pluperfect?" Here, Pastan humorously extends the logic of Lysenko's ideas to her own life, imagining that her hard work and dedication to learning could somehow be passed on to her children as innate abilities. The notion that her children might "have golden skins after all my hours of basting myself with baby oil on the roof of the college dormitory" similarly exaggerates the idea that acquired traits—like a suntan—could become permanent, heritable characteristics. These lines evoke the universal wish that our efforts and experiences could directly benefit our offspring, sparing them the struggles we faced.

As the poem unfolds, it explores the broader implications of such a worldview: "The artist's children would draw masterpieces with their broken kindergarten crayons; the thief's offspring would dazzle / with lock-pick or gun." These examples extend the idea of inherited traits to both positive and negative skills, suggesting a world where talents and flaws are not learned or developed but are instead passed down fully formed. The artist's child, inheriting creativity, and the thief's child, inheriting criminal skill, reflect a deterministic view of inheritance, where one's fate is predetermined by the actions and experiences of previous generations.

The poem reaches its ironic climax with the lines, "And I who inherited the germ of fiction, could close the book on Darwin and his jabbering finches." Here, Pastan directly contrasts Lysenko's discredited theories with Charles Darwin's well-established principles of evolution, particularly natural selection. Darwin's finches, famous for their adaptive beak shapes, represent the slow, gradual process of evolution through natural selection—quite the opposite of the instant, Lamarckian inheritance that Lysenko advocated. By claiming she could "close the book on Darwin," the speaker humorously positions herself as rejecting the fundamental ideas of evolutionary biology in favor of a more appealing but scientifically unsound vision of heredity.

The poem, however, is not merely a critique of Lysenkoism but also a reflection on the human desire for control and perfection. The idea of climbing "the storied stairs of generations" speaks to the hope that each successive generation will improve upon the last, becoming more perfect as they inherit the best traits of their ancestors. This desire is both touching and unrealistic, as the poem subtly suggests through its playful tone and exaggerated scenarios.

"Ode to Lysenko" invites readers to consider the complexities of inheritance, both genetic and cultural, and the ways in which we might wish for a simpler, more direct connection between our efforts and the legacies we leave behind. By blending humor, irony, and a touch of wistfulness, Pastan creates a poem that is both a commentary on flawed scientific theories and a meditation on the human condition—our hopes, our desires for our children, and the sometimes bittersweet reality that we cannot control the future as neatly as we might like. The poem ultimately underscores the importance of accepting the limitations of what can be inherited and appreciating the unique, unpredictable paths that each generation must navigate.

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