Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Drugs Alcohol Little Sister" by John Berryman is a poem that delves into the complex and tormented life of the Austrian expressionist poet Georg Trakl. The poem is both an homage and a reflection on Trakl's struggles with addiction, mental illness, and his eventual suicide in 1914. Berryman intertwines themes of despair, artistic sensitivity, and the search for solace in the face of overwhelming darkness.

The poem opens with a haunting scene, indicating that Trakl had "nine nights to spare" after a critical moment when his service revolver was taken from him. This alludes to Trakl's experience as a medical officer during World War I, where he was overwhelmed by the responsibility of caring for severely wounded soldiers without adequate supplies or assistance. The imagery of "the dying in his care mountained" powerfully conveys the accumulation of trauma and helplessness that contributed to Trakl's mental breakdown.

Berryman portrays himself as a distant observer, "so far off to my flatland," yet deeply connected to Trakl's suffering—"I shoot him, though, a fellow agony." This line suggests a shared understanding of pain between the poets, bridging time and space through the empathy of shared experience. The phrase "a fellow agony" highlights Berryman's identification with Trakl's torment, emphasizing the bond of poetic sensibility and personal anguish.

The poem then shifts to a surreal and disturbing landscape, "this schwartze Verwesung" (black decay), where the speaker is overwhelmed by a mixture of sensory impressions that evoke both a physical and spiritual decay. The mention of "ivories & blacks" likely refers to piano keys, suggesting the presence of art and beauty amidst decay, while "the hiss of souls escaping" evokes a sense of finality and the release of suffering.

Berryman's plea, "for let us not all together in such pain / dumb apart pale into oblivion—no!" is a call to acknowledge and perhaps resist the total erasure of the self through despair. This line underscores the poem's central tension between the desire to escape suffering and the imperative to remain present, even in the face of unbearable pain.

The poem concludes with a direct address to Trakl, "Trakl, con the male nurse," acknowledging his profession and perhaps suggesting a caretaking role that Trakl could not fulfill for himself. The final lines, "Surmounted by carrion, cry out and overdose & go," are a stark and tragic encapsulation of Trakl's death by cocaine overdose. Berryman presents this act not merely as an escape but as a final, desperate communication—a "cry out"—from a soul overwhelmed by the carrion of his own existence.

"Drugs Alcohol Little Sister" is a dense, allusive poem that captures the despair and complexity of Georg Trakl's life and work. Berryman uses his poetic craft to explore the intersections of creativity, suffering, and the human condition, offering a poignant meditation on the costs of sensitivity and the burdens of consciousness.

POEM TEXT: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Delusions_Etc_of_John_Berryman/UUwMBAAAQBAJ?q=BERRYMAN+%22ONE+OF+THE+WITS+OF+THE+SCHOOL%27+YOUR+CHUM+WOULD+SAY%22&gbpv=1#f=false

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