Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Given", Robert Creeley meditates on memory, sensation, and the passing of time, evoking a stream of sensory impressions that are tied to specific moments in the speaker';s life. The poem explores the ephemeral nature of experience and the way memory is fragmented, with particular details standing out—distances, smells, textures—but ultimately resisting coherence. Through these disjointed memories, Creeley reflects on how our senses—touch, smell, taste—shape our understanding of the world, and how these sensations are markers of both our physical existence and our movement through time.

The opening line, "Can you recall distances, odors, how far from the one to the other," immediately places the reader in a reflective mode, questioning the reliability and scope of memory. The use of the senses—distances (sight or spatial awareness) and odors (smell)—creates a connection between space and memory. The question implies that these details, while once vivid, may now be difficult to fully recall, suggesting the fading nature of sensory experience as time passes. This notion is further reinforced by the fragmented nature of the images that follow.

"Stalls for the cows, / the hummocks one jumped to, the lawn';s webs," brings the reader into specific, pastoral memories that feel both personal and universal. The stalls for cows and the hummocks evoke rural imagery, suggesting a childhood spent in or near nature, where jumping over hummocks or encountering the webs on a lawn was part of daily life. These images are deeply tactile and rooted in physical experience, but the poem presents them in a fleeting, almost disjointed manner, as if the speaker is reaching back into the recesses of their mind, pulling forth details that are not fully connected but still vividly present.

The next lines, "touch, taste of specific / doughnuts, cookies, what a pimple was and all such way one';s skin was a place—" shift the focus to more intimate, personal sensations. The specificity of "doughnuts" and "cookies" introduces the idea of taste, another deeply rooted sensory experience, while the mention of a "pimple" grounds the memory in adolescence, a time when the body—and particularly the skin—becomes a central focus of one’s awareness. "One';s skin was a place" is a striking phrase, suggesting that the body itself is a landscape of experience, a site where memories are stored and felt through touch. The mention of touch and taste reinforces the physicality of these memories, but there is also an undertone of self-consciousness, particularly in the reference to a pimple, which could evoke feelings of awkwardness or discomfort associated with youth.

"Touch, term, turn of curious fate" broadens the scope of the poem from sensory details to more abstract concepts. The repetition of "touch" from the earlier lines links the physical experience of sensation to the larger idea of fate and how life unfolds. "Term" could refer to time or duration, suggesting the passage of periods or phases in life, while "turn of curious fate" implies the unpredictable nature of existence. This line introduces a more philosophical reflection on how life is shaped not only by our physical experiences but also by the larger, more mysterious forces of fate.

The final lines, "Who can throw a ball, who draw a face, who knows how," return the reader to the theme of skill and learned behavior. These questions seem to ask who retains these basic skills—throwing a ball, drawing a face—perhaps referencing simple, youthful abilities that once seemed effortless but now feel distant. The repetition of "who" introduces a sense of uncertainty, as if these abilities, once second nature, are now forgotten or elusive. This closing line connects back to the earlier theme of memory, asking how much of what we once knew or could do is still accessible to us as time passes.

In "Given", Creeley examines how the body, memory, and time interact to shape our experience of the world. Through the poem’s fragmented images, he captures the fleeting, sensory nature of memory, which resists being fully grasped but still lingers in the mind. The simple, everyday experiences of touch, taste, and movement—jumping across hummocks, tasting doughnuts, feeling a pimple—are imbued with significance, marking the way our physical selves are tied to our memories. Yet, Creeley also suggests that these sensations and skills slip away over time, becoming part of the nebulous fabric of memory, where we question what we still know and what has been lost.

Structurally, the poem mirrors the fluid, shifting nature of memory. Creeley’s use of enjambment and lack of punctuation creates a sense of continuous thought, as if the speaker is allowing these impressions to surface without forcing them into a coherent narrative. This openness reflects the nature of memory itself—fragmented, fleeting, and always just beyond full understanding. In "Given", Creeley explores how we navigate the passage of time through the physical sensations that remain with us, even as the meaning of those memories becomes more elusive.

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