Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Robert Creeley';s poem "Edges (2)" is a deep, introspective exploration of the boundaries between internal and external realities, the intersection of thought and perception, and the yearning for an experience beyond the limitations of the mind. Through vivid imagery and reflective language, Creeley delves into themes of familiarity, the struggle to reconcile with both the present and the abstract, and the desire for a transcendent moment where all boundaries dissolve. The poem captures the tension between observing the world with an intellectual lens and experiencing it directly and purely.

The poem begins with a contemplative tone: "Expectably slowed yet unthinking of outside when in, or weather / as ever more than there when everything, anything, will be again." The phrase "expectably slowed" suggests a natural deceleration, a sense of moving through time or thought at a deliberate pace. The speaker is "unthinking of outside when in," suggesting a disconnect between internal and external experiences. The "weather," described as "ever more than there," hints at the complexity of the natural world that is often overlooked. The idea that "everything, anything, will be again" conveys a sense of cyclical renewal, of familiar patterns recurring, grounding the speaker in a reassuring constancy.

"Particular, located, familiar in its presence and reassuring. The end / of the seeming dream was simply / a walk down from the house through the field." Here, the poem emphasizes the comfort of the familiar. The "particular, located, familiar" is presented as something solid, something that can be relied upon. The "end of the seeming dream" is contrasted with something simple—a walk through a field—suggesting that while abstract thoughts or dreams may feel ephemeral, there is a grounding reality in everyday actions. The simplicity of the walk represents a return to the real, a shift away from abstract contemplation.

"I had entered the edges, static, / had been walking without attention, thinking of what I had seen, whatever, / a flotsam of recollections, passive reflection." The speaker describes moving to the "edges" and being "static," implying a state of being on the threshold, where neither movement nor stillness dominates. The phrase "walking without attention" suggests a disconnect from the physical experience, as the speaker is lost in thought—a "flotsam of recollections" that reflects a passive, almost indifferent engagement with the surroundings. This imagery conveys a sense of drifting, of being caught between active perception and the inertia of the mind.

"My own battered body, clamorous to roll in the grass, sky looming, / the myriad smells ecstatic, felt insistent prick of things under its weight, wanted something / Beyond the easy, commodious adjustment to determining thought, the loss of reasons to ever do otherwise than comply—tedious, destructive interiors of mind." The speaker';s body is described as "battered," suggesting weariness, and it longs for something primal, wanting to "roll in the grass" and feel the "myriad smells." There is a physical craving here, a desire to escape the confines of thought and experience something directly, something "beyond the easy, commodious adjustment to determining thought." The "tedious, destructive interiors of mind" imply a dissatisfaction with the mental processes that reduce experiences to abstractions and judgments, highlighting a yearning for an unmediated encounter with the world.

"As whatever came in to be seen, representative, inexorably chosen, then left as some judgment. / Here thought had its plan." These lines reflect the speaker';s awareness of the limitations of perception. Each thing seen becomes "representative" and is "inexorably chosen"—as if the act of seeing is predetermined, reducing the richness of experience to mere symbols. The phrase "thought had its plan" suggests that the mind imposes order and interpretation on everything, constraining the speaker';s ability to perceive the world freely.

"Is it only in dreams / can begin the somnambulistic rapture? Without apparent eyes? / Just simply looking?" The speaker questions whether true, uninhibited experience—"somnambulistic rapture"—can only occur in dreams, where one can look "without apparent eyes." This evokes a longing for a form of perception that transcends the physical senses, a pure observation without the limitations of interpretation or judgment. "Just simply looking" implies an innocence and immediacy of perception that the speaker wishes to reclaim.

"All these things were out there waiting, innumerable, patient. / How could I name even one enough, call it only a flower or a distance?" Here, the poem acknowledges the vastness and patience of the world—the "innumerable" things that exist independently of the speaker';s perception. The question "How could I name even one enough?" reflects the inadequacy of language to capture the essence of what is seen. To "call it only a flower or a distance" feels reductive, as if any attempt to name or define would diminish the richness of the experience.

"If ever, just one moment, a place / I could be in where all imagination would fade to a center, wondrous, beyond any way / one had come there, any sense," reflects a longing for a moment of pure presence—where imagination and thought dissolve, leaving only the essence of being. The "center" is described as "wondrous," suggesting an experience beyond comprehension, an ideal state of unity and completeness that transcends all attempts to arrive there logically or rationally.

"And the far-off edges of usual / place were inside. Not even the shimmering reflections, not one even transient ring come into a thoughtless mind." These lines suggest a merging of the edges of perception with the self—a blurring of boundaries where even "shimmering reflections" and "transient rings" do not intrude upon the mind. The "thoughtless mind" represents a state of being unburdened by interpretation or analysis, fully immersed in the present.

"Would it be wrong to say, the sky is up, the ground is down, and out there / is what can never be the same— / what, like music, has gone?" The speaker questions the simplicity of stating what seems self-evident—that "the sky is up, the ground is down"—and acknowledges the fleeting, ever-changing nature of the world. The comparison to music, "what, like music, has gone," suggests that moments, like melodies, are ephemeral, experienced and then lost, leaving only their echoes.

"Trees stay outside one’s thought. The water stays stable in its shifting. / The road from here to there continues. One is included." The poem moves towards a sense of acceptance. The "trees" and "water" remain as they are, indifferent to human thought, and the "road from here to there" continues, suggesting a path that is ongoing. The phrase "One is included" conveys a sense of belonging, a recognition that, despite the limitations of perception and thought, the speaker is a part of this larger, ongoing process.

"Here it all is then—as if expected, waited for and found again." The concluding line offers a sense of closure, implying that everything, including the experiences, thoughts, and the world itself, is "as if expected, waited for and found again." This suggests a return to a state of familiarity, where the present moment, though complex and elusive, is accepted as it is.

Robert Creeley';s "Edges (2)" is a meditation on perception, the boundaries between self and world, and the desire for an unmediated experience of reality. Through vivid imagery and reflective questioning, the poem explores the struggle between intellectual abstraction and the longing for pure, direct experience. Ultimately, the poem captures the tension between the mind';s need to define and categorize and the deep, human yearning to simply be—to experience the world without the constraints of thought and interpretation.

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