Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Book of Days 17" by Martha Collins unfolds as a meditation on the ephemeral beauty of a particular day, setting it apart from all others. This day, marked by ordinary rain and a smoke-like sky, transforms through the poem into a space where the boundaries between the dream world and reality blur, inviting a deeper reflection on perception, the natural world, and the transcendence found within the mundane.

The poem opens with the anticipation of a significant moment, "one of those days of days, / one the others were waiting for." This introduction sets a tone of expectancy, suggesting that this day holds a promise or revelation that sets it apart from the ordinary flow of time.

Collins describes the day's appearance in terms that evoke a subdued, almost melancholic beauty: "wearing nothing more stunning / than rain, a gray sky without silver / or pearl, rather like smoke, with even / a little yellow, a trace of bruise." The absence of lustrous colors and the comparison to smoke and a bruise lend the day an introspective quality, suggesting depth and complexity beneath its outward simplicity.

The poem then shifts to a more vibrant, dream-like imagery where "the colors / re-enter the birds, the earth," painting a scene of renewed vibrancy and life. This description of a world "as ornately green as a gold / thing's gold," with birds moving freely and grass as light as air, conjures a vision of utopian harmony and boundless freedom. The metaphor of a sky "so royally blue it's a house" further blurs the lines between the celestial and the terrestrial, the physical and the metaphysical.

Collins crafts a narrative that moves from the tangible world into a dreamscape, only to awaken with a desire to carry that dream's beauty into reality: "a dream so lovely I wake / myself up to see --." This awakening is not just from sleep, but to a deeper appreciation of the world's inherent beauty, a realization that the dream's enchantment can infuse the everyday with wonder.

The concluding lines, "This is the day / the world of dream re-enters the world / where I live," mark a reconciliation of the internal and external worlds, a merging of the imagined and the real. The detailed observation of a beech tree, "as barely gray / as the day," alive with the aftermath of rain, serves as a symbol of this union—a physical manifestation of the poem's earlier, more abstract visions.

"Book of Days 17" captures a moment of revelation, a day when the ordinary is seen anew, imbued with the luminous quality of dreams. Collins invites readers to perceive the world with a sense of wonder and openness, suggesting that even the most mundane day can reveal a depth of beauty and meaning when viewed with the eyes of the heart. Through its lyrical exploration of the interplay between dream and reality, the poem celebrates the capacity for the everyday to awaken a sense of the sublime, urging a deeper engagement with the world around us.

POEM TEXT: https://capa.conncoll.edu/collins.space.htm#DAYS

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