Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In Robert Creeley's short, reflective poem "Wanting You," he distills a deeply personal and almost paradoxical experience of longing. The lines appear simple, yet they point to a struggle to define something as ephemeral and essential as the human heart, capturing both its mystery and weight. The phrase "Specific light, / water, ground" anchors the imagery in a physical, sensory reality—elements that are easily observed and defined. Yet, immediately following this grounded imagery, Creeley juxtaposes "heart's / the hard / thing to define," suggesting a stark contrast between the tangible world and the elusive nature of human emotion.

The heart, as he describes it, resists clear definition. It is perhaps the innermost part of the self, the seat of longing and attachment, but it is also something that slips away from language and reason. By describing the difficulty of defining the heart, Creeley hints at the depth and complexity of desire and connection. Wanting someone becomes not only an emotional state but a contemplative struggle—a quest to reconcile the clarity of the physical world with the ambiguity of inner feelings.

Through this simplicity, Creeley exposes the universal experience of longing. This wanting transcends simple need; it is an attempt to capture and articulate something that may forever remain just out of reach, making the heart "the hard thing to define." By anchoring the elusive feeling in "specific light, / water, ground," Creeley gestures at the interconnectedness of the physical and the emotional, highlighting how something as personal as desire is woven into the fabric of the natural world, yet remains profoundly personal and resistant to straightforward understanding.

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