Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Arrivals," subtitled "Fire Elegy 5," Christopher Howell explores themes of inevitability, self-reckoning, and the cyclical nature of life and loss. The speaker, in a reflective tone, embarks on a journey through the natural world, confronting inner fears and darker aspects of self as they progress along a path that seems both predetermined and demanding. Howell’s language, stark and laden with metaphor, invites readers to consider the nature of personal transformation and the acceptance of life’s hardships. The concluding image—a home that turns out to be aflame—serves as a powerful metaphor for the impermanence and unexpected conclusions of life’s journeys.

The poem begins with a sense of initiation: “I enter the trees, a last mile,” positioning the speaker at a threshold where they are no longer tethered to familiar surroundings. Trees, often symbolic of knowledge or life itself, serve here as the beginning of an uncertain path. Howell’s use of “a last mile” suggests a final, crucial segment of a journey, implying that the speaker is nearing a significant moment or realization. There is an air of resignation in the speaker’s tone, a feeling that they are “wobblingly convinced by appearances,” showing a sense of vulnerability and uncertainty despite a strong resolve to move forward.

This vulnerability is further highlighted in the lines, “Nothing will arrest me now that Mars is up and my path tight and clear as a signal on a thorn.” Here, Mars, the planet associated with war, conflict, and strength, suggests that the speaker is emboldened by a sense of purpose. Yet, “tight and clear as a signal on a thorn” hints at the delicate and painful nature of their resolve. Howell’s choice of a thorn to symbolize clarity reveals the cost of this path—a sharp, piercing certainty that aligns with the themes of struggle and self-confrontation.

The speaker’s inner struggle is emphasized by the line, “I have only to go on rending the seams of my fearful nature.” The metaphor of “rending the seams” suggests an unraveling, as though the speaker is deconstructing their own being to confront their innermost fears. The line, “I have only to beast when beast must be,” speaks to the primal instincts required to endure this journey. Howell suggests that sometimes survival requires us to embrace our animalistic, survival-driven selves. The repetition of “That’s the way” throughout these lines acts as both affirmation and resignation, reinforcing the notion that this path is inescapable, a fated passage one must accept rather than resist.

The poem’s middle section shifts to a more philosophical tone, with Howell writing, “All must proceed into the flexing shadow, heaven of lost gloves and pencil ends.” This line captures the inevitable movement towards the unknown, represented by the “flexing shadow.” Shadows here symbolize the uncertainties of life, while the “heaven of lost gloves and pencil ends” brings to mind the forgotten fragments of daily life, small remnants that once held purpose. By referring to these as a kind of “heaven,” Howell evokes the beauty and poignancy of life’s discarded or overlooked moments, suggesting that the accumulation of these fragments is, in a sense, what we are destined to leave behind.

The speaker acknowledges the futility of resisting this journey: “It is useless to struggle.” Howell portrays nature as a “mute assemblage of moss,” a resilient, patient entity that “wait[s] for more moss, everyone.” Moss, a slow-growing, persistent organism, symbolizes endurance and acceptance. This image of moss “waiting for more moss” reflects the cyclic nature of existence, where life continues despite individual struggles, a cycle that is indifferent to human suffering and transformation. This portrayal of nature as indifferent yet eternal invites readers to view their own struggles within the broader context of life’s continuous, unceasing flow.

The speaker’s resignation to the inevitability of this journey is underscored with “Praise for rough roads in their certain interminable consequence.” Here, Howell expresses a sense of reverence for the hardships and challenges that shape and define us. The “certain interminable consequence” suggests that while the road may be arduous, it leads inexorably toward transformation or realization. This acknowledgment of consequence highlights the speaker’s understanding that each step, each hardship, contributes to a greater, though perhaps unknowable, end.

The final lines of the poem deliver a powerful, unexpected conclusion: “That glow in the homey window, when we finally arrive, turns out is the house afire.” The glowing window, which initially appears inviting and comforting, transforms into an ominous symbol of destruction. This line resonates as a metaphor for the journey’s end, where the anticipated comfort of “arrival” becomes an encounter with irreversible change or loss. Fire, often a symbol of both purification and destruction, suggests that arrival does not bring solace but rather a profound and potentially painful revelation. Howell’s choice of the word “homey” imbues the image with a sense of familiarity, implying that even what we consider safe or enduring is subject to unexpected forces.

In "Arrivals," Howell explores the complex relationship between endurance, self-acceptance, and the inevitable transformations of life. The journey described is both physical and spiritual, leading the speaker through a confrontation with their own fears, the demands of existence, and ultimately, the transient nature of what we hold dear. The final image of the burning house suggests that while we may strive toward a sense of arrival or completion, what we find may unsettle or redefine us, much like fire reshapes everything it touches. Howell’s poem offers a meditation on the necessity of resilience, the acceptance of impermanence, and the quiet, often unremarked beauty found in the act of continuing forward, despite the uncertain outcome.

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