Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Southwest of Buffalo" by Donald Hall is a contemplative and richly evocative poem that captures the quiet endurance of rural life and the profound stillness of a graveyard in upstate New York. Through its use of detailed imagery and careful attention to the landscape, Hall explores themes of permanence, memory, and the passage of time.

The poem begins with a serene description of the natural landscape: "The long lakes, flanked by the conservative farms, which are asleep but thinking." The imagery of the "long lakes" and "conservative farms" suggests a timeless, unchanging scene. The farms, though "asleep," are "thinking," hinting at the latent life and activity beneath the surface, as if the land holds memories and experiences in quiet contemplation.

The lakes "collect water from the quiet hills, which as they slope and touch, make towns to hide from the wind." This personification of the hills and the formation of towns as places to "hide from the wind" conveys a sense of shelter and protection provided by the landscape. The description underscores the interconnectedness of the natural world and human habitation, where the physical geography shapes and influences human settlement.

Hall then shifts focus to the Randolph graveyard near Ellington, bringing in a historical and personal element: "Near Ellington, in the Randolph graveyard, Albert Gallatin Dow, who died a hundred years old in nineteen-eight, / remains in the granite tomb which he ordered built." The mention of Albert Gallatin Dow, a centenarian who lived to see the turn of the 20th century, adds a sense of historical continuity and individual legacy to the poem. The "granite tomb" signifies permanence and a deliberate preparation for eternity, suggesting Dow's awareness of his place within the passage of time.

The poem concludes with a poignant image: "toward the day when the short beard of even a centenarian would blow in the wind of flowers, on / the hills of New York." The "short beard of even a centenarian" blowing in the wind evokes the fragility and ephemerality of human life, contrasted with the enduring hills and the persistent wind. The "wind of flowers" adds a touch of beauty and renewal, implying that even in death, there is a connection to the natural cycle of life and rebirth.

"Southwest of Buffalo" by Donald Hall captures the quiet, enduring presence of the rural landscape and the lives that inhabit it. Through its rich imagery and thoughtful reflection on the natural and historical elements of the region, the poem conveys a deep sense of place and the timeless continuity of life and memory.

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