Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Via Appia" by James Dickey is a profound meditation on life, death, legacy, and choice, interwoven with the rich historical tapestry of the Roman landscape. The poem places the speaker and two women alongside the ancient Roman road, where they encounter the palpable presence of history, symbolized by a buried soldier whose life and death seep into their consciousness.

The poem opens with the striking image of the Roman sun going through the speaker, leaving "the seeds of wings in my shoulders," a metaphor that suggests transformation and transcendence. This setting along the Via Appia, known for its tombs and monuments to the dead, becomes a place where past and present intersect, where the weight of history presses into the personal experiences and decisions of the living.

The speaker and the two women, illuminated in this historical and metaphysical light, reflect on the soldier beneath them, whose body transforms as "his lungs / With flowers are filling more deeply," indicating the passage of time and the natural reclaiming of life after death. The soldier's continuing transformation under the earth—his shield gathering rust like lichen—serves as a powerful reminder of the inevitability of decay and the cycle of life.

This meditation on mortality leads the speaker to ponder personal legacy and the continuation of life through children. The speaker imagines two potential futures with the two women: one where his descendants inherit the "blond, heavy girl's" "coarse, blinding hair," and another where they bear the "dark, vine-scented curls" of the other woman's lineage. These reflections on progeny and the characteristics they might inherit become a broader contemplation of what we pass on through generations—not just physically but in spirit and understanding.

The choice between the two women is not merely about personal preference but about how each woman engages with the concept of death and life. The woman he chooses is noted for her ability to look "more deeply / Into death, to watch life arise," suggesting a profound resilience and depth of character that appeals to the speaker. Her smile that could "crack this stone" symbolizes a life force so potent it can break through the hardness of death, echoing the themes of regeneration and renewal.

Yet, the speaker is haunted by the potentiality of the children from the other woman, "all spirit, and great-eyed with singing / In another world, waiting to come." This image evokes a sense of what might have been—or could be—a different path filled with its own unique spirits and songs.

As the poem concludes, the speaker reflects on the transformative power of choice and the inevitability of change, symbolized by his metaphysical journey through death and rebirth. He imagines himself returning from death "as another," his essence transformed and dispersed, yet still connected to the continuum of life. This cycle of death and rebirth parallels the natural cycles surrounding him—the flowers growing from the soldier's lungs, the rusting of the shield—and underscores a universal theme: from death comes new life, from the past arises the future.

"Via Appia" is a rich, textured poem that delves into deep existential questions using the backdrop of Rome's ancient road as a metaphor for the journey of life. It invites reflection on how we are shaped by our connections, choices, and the legacies we choose to leave behind.

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