Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Won't It Be Fine?", Robert Creeley delivers a brutally introspective monologue, confronting his own regrets, aging, desire, and self-perception. The poem presents a speaker who oscillates between bitterness, self-criticism, and bleak humor, casting a critical gaze on his past behaviors, his present condition, and his relationships. With an unfiltered voice, Creeley examines the existential weariness of aging, the disillusionment with time’s passage, and the struggle to find meaning in both memory and mundane daily life. Through this raw and confessional tone, Creeley creates a character study that is painfully honest and starkly self-aware.

The poem opens with an ironic reference to T.S. Eliot’s famous line, “not with a bang but a whimper,” signaling the speaker’s familiarity with both literary culture and his own cynicism toward it. Describing himself as a “wiseass little prick” who feels projected into “an impervious balloon into history,” the speaker dismisses his younger self as arrogant, naively believing in his own importance. This early self-image is inflated, invulnerable, and almost ridiculous in its self-assuredness. By using this inflated metaphor, Creeley emphasizes the speaker’s sense of detachment from his youthful arrogance, as if he now recognizes the absurdity of his past ambitions or self-perception.

Yet the poem’s tone quickly shifts from irony to self-doubt as the speaker contemplates his relationship with “old-time time’s indifference to anything / wouldn’t fit the so-called pattern.” Here, the speaker confronts the indifference of time—a force that reshapes lives without concern for personal desires or exceptions. This phrase hints at the futility of striving for uniqueness or defiance against life’s inevitable progression. The speaker seems “spooked” by this realization, haunted by the feeling that he has repeatedly failed or been disregarded by time itself. This acknowledgment sets up a tension between his past bravado and his present awareness of life’s indifference, as he now grapples with the unrelenting limitations of aging.

The lines “I am tired, I am / increasingly crippled by my own body’s real wear / and tear” are a direct admission of physical decline, as the speaker bluntly acknowledges the toll that age has taken on him. This physical wear is not just superficial but “real,” underscoring the inevitability of bodily decay and the way it shapes one’s daily experience. The speaker’s tone is weary, devoid of sentimentality, as he faces the harsh reality of his body’s limitations. This weariness extends beyond the physical; it permeates his outlook, suggesting that the burden of self-reflection and regret weighs just as heavily as the physical pain.

In a startlingly candid moment, the speaker reveals an “obsessional search” for images of younger women or, as he describes, “whatever my failing head now projects as desirable.” This admission of lingering desire, even as he ages, reveals the complexity of his relationship with sexuality and self-image. The fixation on “young” or “come-hither looks” highlights a struggle to reconcile the persistent desires of his mind with the diminishing capabilities of his body. This dissonance adds a layer of vulnerability to the speaker, as he confronts the persistence of longing even when it no longer feels attainable or appropriate. The phrase “failing head” suggests that his desires are no longer clear or healthy but are clouded by age and an inability to let go of youthful fantasies.

Reflecting on his interactions with others, the speaker condemns himself as a “meanminded bastard” who imposed his full weight onto people “some of whom I hardly knew or even wanted to.” This harsh self-assessment points to a deep-seated remorse for the ways he treated others, suggesting a past defined by selfishness and disregard for others’ well-being. The tone here is almost accusatory, as if he recognizes his past failings but feels unable to atone for them. By using such direct language, Creeley underscores the speaker’s self-loathing and frustration with his own behavior, as well as a sense of entrapment in his own personality.

The poem shifts to a broader meditation on solitude and isolation, as the speaker imagines spending “quiet evenings at home” while he, or “they, plural,” roam “the feral passages… still in their bedroom slippers.” This image of wandering “feral passages” conveys a sense of detachment from the outside world, as if he and his imagined companions are confined to an increasingly insular and monotonous existence. The choice of “feral” suggests both a loss of civility and a return to base instincts, as if he is reduced to prowling within his own limited, closed-off space. This scene reflects the isolating effects of aging, where life contracts into familiar routines, leaving only echoes of human connection and a kind of quiet desperation.

The line “No, I never go out anymore, having all I need right here” reflects a reluctant resignation, a retreat into a life without engagement with the outside world. The phrase carries a tinge of irony, as the speaker looks at “his wife, children, the dog” not as companions but “only / a defense.” This stark portrayal of family as merely a defense mechanism reveals a painful emotional distance, as if his relationships are defined more by obligation than affection. His inability to fully connect with those closest to him highlights the isolation he feels, despite being surrounded by loved ones. The admission that “where he has been and is cannot admit them” suggests an inner world that is closed off, inaccessible to those around him, further emphasizing his self-imposed solitude.

Creeley’s line “There is no hope in hope, / friends. If you have friends, be sure you are good to them” provides a grim conclusion. By dismissing hope, the speaker acknowledges the futility he feels, as if he no longer believes in the possibility of positive change or redemption. This final sentiment carries a weight of resignation, as if he is imparting a hard-earned lesson: that the only value lies in the small acts of kindness and decency one can extend to others. The speaker’s advice to “be sure you are good to them” suggests that he has failed in this regard, left to confront the consequences of a life spent prioritizing his own desires over the well-being of others.

In "Won't It Be Fine?", Robert Creeley explores the loneliness, regret, and bitterness that accompany aging and self-reflection. Through the speaker’s unfiltered self-assessment, the poem captures the dissonance between youthful ideals and the disappointments of lived experience. Creeley’s raw language and introspective tone reveal a character deeply aware of his own failings, haunted by the awareness that time is indifferent and that the people closest to him have become estranged or distant. The poem’s bleak final lines underscore the speaker’s resignation, as he contemplates a life spent in pursuit of desires that ultimately leave him isolated and dissatisfied. "Won't It Be Fine?" is an unflinching look at the complexities of selfhood, desire, and regret, offering a stark reminder of the importance of connection, empathy, and humility amid the inevitability of time’s passage.

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