Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Four for John Daley", Robert Creeley offers a quartet of poems that navigate themes of memory, loss, abandonment, and the complex emotions associated with leaving behind personal and familial connections. Each section delves into a distinct emotional and existential space, while together they create a cohesive meditation on the passage of time, the weight of inherited objects, and the emptiness that lingers in the wake of personal and physical departures. These four poems, dedicated to John Daley, reflect Creeley’s characteristic minimalism, where the economy of language allows for profound emotional depth.

The first section, "Mother';s Things", explores the weight of inherited possessions and the emotions tied to familial memory. The speaker begins by stating, "I wanted approval," setting the tone of seeking validation, likely from a parent, while "carrying with me things of my mother’s beyond their use to me." This line suggests that the speaker holds on to these objects not for their functionality, but for their emotional significance. The "worn-out clock" and "small green lock box" are not just material possessions; they are imbued with the presence of the mother, representing the remnants of her life and the speaker';s connection to her. The "engraved brass plate for printing calling cards" belonging to the father introduces the idea of legacy and social identity, yet it is the mother’s presence, "such size of her," that continues to "call out" to the speaker. This phrase emphasizes how, even after death, the memory and influence of the mother linger, exerting a silent but powerful emotional force. The phrase "silently expressive will" captures the paradox of absence and presence, as the mother';s will still influences the speaker, though she is no longer physically present.

In "Echo", Creeley addresses the isolating nature of responsibility and the care that comes with knowing others. The line "Lonely in no one to hold it with—" speaks to the burden of carrying memories, responsibilities, and emotional ties without anyone to share them with. The sense of "responsible caring" for those who are no longer present evokes a deep sense of solitude. This section highlights the speaker’s feeling of isolation, as the connections to the past—those who were once "known"—linger in the speaker';s mind, leaving them to shoulder the emotional weight alone. The use of "echo" as the title reinforces the idea of memory as something that reverberates, continuing to sound even after its source has faded.

"Leaving" introduces a more visceral emotional response to departure. The physicality of grief and separation is captured in the lines "My eye teared, lump in throat—," signaling a familiar reaction to leaving behind something or someone significant. The speaker is "going away from here," a phrase that suggests both a physical and emotional departure. The repetition of leaving creates a cyclical pattern, where the speaker’s experiences of abandonment are continually relived: "everything that had come with me first was waiting again to be taken." This line suggests that the speaker is not only leaving behind physical possessions or places, but also the emotional baggage tied to past experiences. The objects, memories, and moments that the speaker has "looked, held, handled" over time are reminders of life';s inherent unfairness, where "no fairness, justice" can "stand with those abandoned." The final lines reveal a deep sense of injustice, not in a societal sense, but in the personal realm, where abandonment—whether emotional or physical—leaves a lasting mark on the speaker';s sense of fairness in life.

In the final section, "Buffalo Afternoon", Creeley returns to a more observational tone, focusing on a particular scene that captures the lingering presence of emptiness. The "greyed board fence past brown open door" and "overhead weather’s early summer’s" set a somber, reflective atmosphere, where the everyday scene becomes imbued with a sense of abandonment. The phrase "The chairs sit various, what’s left" evokes a sense of disarray or incompletion, as if life continues in a scattered, fragmented way. The "emptiness, this curious waiting to go" suggests an existential pause, where life is filled with anticipation of departure or change, but nothing has yet happened. The image of "Willy’s battered plastic horse" adds a note of melancholy, as the horse';s "dog for its face" signals a kind of misplacement or distortion. This battered, misplaced object stands as a symbol for the disjointed, lingering presence of things left behind, or lives lived out in the shadow of past significance. The phrase "All here, even in the absence" underscores the paradox that even in spaces of emptiness or abandonment, there is a sense of presence, as if the past is still there, haunting the present with its weight.

The overall structure of "Four for John Daley" uses each poem to explore different facets of loss and memory, with each section offering a different tone and focus—whether it';s the personal weight of familial inheritance, the solitude of remembering those who have been lost, the pain of leaving behind connections, or the lingering emptiness of abandoned spaces. Through sparse language and carefully chosen imagery, Creeley captures the emotional complexity of these experiences, creating a powerful meditation on the passage of time and the emotional residue that it leaves behind.

The brevity of each section reflects Creeley’s ability to convey significant emotional depth with minimal language. The repetition of certain motifs—such as abandonment, objects as symbols of memory, and the tension between presence and absence—creates a thematic coherence across the four parts. At its core, "Four for John Daley" is about the persistence of memory, the weight of emotional attachment, and the ongoing struggle to reconcile the past with the present.

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