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Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

FAR ROCKAWAY, by                


"Far Rockaway" is a poignant exploration of the intricate relationship between humans and the natural world, particularly the mighty ocean. Through vivid imagery and a delicate weave of emotions, Susan Aizenberg captures a moment of teaching, learning, and existential reflection that transcends a simple day at the beach, transforming it into a metaphor for life's challenges, fears, and the beauty of overcoming them.

The poem opens with a visual and tactile immediacy: a man and his children, hand in hand, wading into the ocean. This image sets the stage for a narrative that is both intimate and universal. The ocean, with its "icy green fingers" and gradations of color, emerges as a character in its own right, a living entity that interacts with the human figures. Aizenberg uses the ocean's vastness and the gradual progression from shallow waters to the "plunging dark" of its depths as a metaphor for the unknowns and challenges we face in life.

The sensory experience of the beach is rendered with meticulous attention to detail. The reader is drawn into the scene through descriptions of color, sound, and movement: from the "blue green, bottle green, ink pad blue, violet" of the water to the "elegant wheelies" of cormorants and gulls against the "bleached August sky." These elements are not merely background; they are integral to the poem's exploration of human interaction with nature and the passage of time.

A significant theme in "Far Rockaway" is the notion of teaching and learning, both in the literal sense of a father teaching his children to navigate the ocean's waves and in the metaphorical sense of learning to face life's challenges. The ocean's "vast machine" and the impending waves serve as a test and a lesson for the children, teaching them about courage, trust, and the importance of facing fears head-on.

The poem's climax comes with the approach of a massive wave, a moment fraught with "pleasure and fear." This wave, described as a "tsunami, swollen with intent," becomes a symbol for the overwhelming challenges and fears that loom large in our lives. Yet, the family's reaction—waiting, letting it come, diving into its dark curl—speaks to a profound trust in the process, in the lessons taught by the father, and in the resilience of the human spirit.

Aizenberg weaves a narrative that oscillates between the tangible and the metaphorical, between the immediate family scene and the broader human experience. The children's encounter with the ocean becomes a rite of passage, a metaphor for the journey through life, marked by challenges, fears, and the eventual calm that follows the storm. The imagery of potentially "turning back through history" and evolving "to the watery start" suggests a deep connection to the natural world and a cyclical view of life and existence.

"Far Rockaway" closes on a note of calm and renewal, with the ocean "rocking gently now," its "spent wash foaming its delicate palimpsest along the shore." This image, rich in its evocation of history, memory, and the passing of time, encapsulates the poem's meditation on the ephemeral nature of human experience against the backdrop of the eternal, ever-changing sea. Through its lyrical exploration of fear, courage, and the human connection to the natural world, "Far Rockaway" invites readers to reflect on their own experiences of facing and overcoming the vast, sometimes daunting waves of life.

POEM TEXT: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Muse/uJmmrdn2WvwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=far%20rockaway


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