Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Marge Piercy’s poem "Where Dreams Come From" is a vivid exploration of the genesis and power of dreams, particularly focusing on a young girl’s aspiration to transcend her constrained environment and pursue higher education. The poem uses rich imagery and metaphor to convey the clash between the girl’s ambitions and the limitations imposed by her family’s expectations.

The poem opens with the image of a girl retreating to her private space: "A girl slams the door of her little room / under the eaves where marauding squirrels / scamper overhead like herds of ideas." This description sets the stage for her internal world, where thoughts and dreams are as restless and lively as the squirrels above her. The fact that she has "finally a room with a door that shuts" suggests a newfound sense of autonomy, yet she is unable to appreciate it fully due to her frustration with her family’s lack of understanding.

Piercy captures the girl’s anger and isolation: "She is furious her parents don't comprehend / why she wants to go to college." The mention of college as a place associated with "musical comedy fantasies and weekend / football her father watches, beer can / in hand" highlights the disconnect between her aspirations and her family’s more grounded, perhaps narrow, perspective on education and its value.

The poem then delves into the nature of dreams, posing rhetorical questions that explore their mysterious origins: "Where do dreams come from? Do they / sneak in through torn screens at night / to light on the arm like mosquitoes?" These questions suggest various whimsical and natural sources for dreams, emphasizing their elusive and almost magical nature.

Piercy continues with more possibilities: "Are they passed from mouth to ear / like gossip or dirty jokes? Do they / sprout from underground on damp / mornings like toadstools that form / fairy rings on dewtipped grasses?" These metaphors underscore the idea that dreams are pervasive and can manifest in unexpected ways, subtly influencing and shaping one’s desires and ambitions.

However, the poem asserts that dreams "slink out of books, they lurk / in the stacks of libraries." This shift to a more concrete source of inspiration highlights the transformative power of literature and knowledge. Books and libraries become the breeding grounds for dreams, suggesting that the act of reading and learning can ignite aspirations and expand one’s horizons.

The scent of peonies rising from the pages of books serves as a metaphor for the intoxicating promise that literature holds: "Out of pages / turned they rise like the scent of peonies / and infect the brain with their promise." This imagery evokes the idea that dreams, once ignited, have a powerful and lingering impact on the mind.

The poem concludes with the girl’s determined resolve: "I want, I will, says the girl and already / she is halfway out the door and down / the street from this neighborhood, this / mortgaged house, this family tight / and constricting as the collar on the next / door dog who howls on his chain all night." This final image portrays her sense of entrapment and her urgent desire to escape and pursue her dreams. The comparison to the howling dog on a chain emphasizes her feeling of being restricted and her yearning for freedom.

"Where Dreams Come From" by Marge Piercy is a powerful meditation on the origins and transformative power of dreams. Through vivid and imaginative imagery, Piercy captures the tension between a young girl’s aspirations and the constraints of her environment, ultimately celebrating the liberating potential of education and literature in fostering and nurturing dreams.

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