Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In Anna Akhmatova's "Poems of Akhmatova: 35. March Elegy," the reader is invited to delve into a meditative journey on memory, loss, and the eerie persistence of the past. This poem, translated by Stanley Kunitz and Max Hayward, was written in 1960, during a period of Akhmatova's life when she was already a celebrated but also a beleaguered poet, navigating the complexities of living and writing under the Soviet regime. The setting of Leningrad is not accidental; it forms the historical and emotional backdrop against which Akhmatova's musings unfold.

The poem opens with an assertion of having "enough treasures from the past," suggesting both abundance and burden. These treasures are not all pleasant. In fact, they are held captive by a "malevolent memory," a force that doesn't let go easily. The memories listed range from the ordinary to the extraordinary: a "modest church" with a slightly tilted "gold cupola," a "harsh chorus of crows," the "whistle of a train," and a "birch tree haggard in a field." Each of these memories appears vivid but also frozen in time, like snippets of a life lived but not fully understood.

Akhmatova also touches on a "secret midnight conclave / of monumental Bible-oaks," possibly an allusion to the persecuted spirituality in Soviet Russia. This is followed by the surreal image of "a tiny rowboat that comes drifting out / of somebody's dreams, slowly foundering," suggesting the fragile nature of dreams and perhaps the impossibility of fully realizing them.

The change of seasons, indicated by the winter that has "already loitered here," serves as a metaphor for the passage of time. Winter's "impenetrable haze" might symbolize both forgetfulness and the obscuring nature of present concerns, which often cloud our perspective on the past.

The poem then delves into existential musings about life and death. The narrator confesses to a former belief that "after we are gone / there's nothing, simply nothing at all." But this nihilism is challenged by mysterious presences: a face "pressed against the frosted pane," a hand "waving like a branch." These unsettling questions hang in the air, begging us to ponder the continuity of life, memory, and perhaps even some form of afterlife.

The final lines of the poem shift the attention to "a sunstruck tatter" that "dances in the mirror," a striking image that leaves us wondering if it is a reflection of the past, a piece of the present, or perhaps a glimpse into the future. It reflects a dance of light and shadow, much like the dance of memory and time in our lives.

Overall, "Poems of Akhmatova: 35. March Elegy" provides a rich tapestry of images and ideas. It addresses the complexities of remembering and forgetting, living and dying, and the strange landscapes of memory that each one of us navigates. It serves as a compelling testament to the multifaceted nature of human experience, rendered even more poignant by the historical and personal context in which it was created.

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