Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Richard Hugo's poem "La Push" encapsulates a scene of tension and ambiguity, where the natural world intersects with human expectations and legal boundaries. The poem evokes a sense of disorientation and quiet disillusionment, as it explores themes of error, misjudgment, and the blurred lines between what is owned, what is claimed, and what is ultimately untamable.

The poem opens with a striking image: "Fish swim onto sand in error." This line immediately sets the tone of the poem, highlighting a sense of mistake or miscalculation. The fish, creatures of the water, are out of place on the sand, suggesting a world where the usual order has been disrupted. The idea of "error" here may also hint at the broader human tendency to misinterpret or mishandle the natural world, leading to unintended consequences.

Hugo contrasts the fish's mistake with the birds, which need "only the usual wind to be fanatic." Unlike the fish, the birds are in their element, driven by instinct rather than error. Their fanaticism, though, is not sparked by anything extraordinary, but by the everyday occurrence of the wind. This subtle juxtaposition hints at the unpredictability and capriciousness of nature, where even the most familiar elements can stir intense reactions.

The waves, which "fall from what had been flat water," suggest a sudden and perhaps violent change, further contributing to the poem's atmosphere of instability. The image of a child selling herring "crudely at your door" adds a layer of rough, unrefined reality to the scene. The use of "crudely" underscores a sense of simplicity, or perhaps desperation, contrasting with the more polished expectations one might have in such a setting.

As the poem progresses, Hugo introduces the figure of the store proprietor, who is "amazed" by the candy turnover. This amazement is linked to his initial expectations upon arriving at La Push: he had anticipated "a Nordic rawness, serrated shore, a broken moon, artifacts and silence, large sales of corn." These expectations speak to a romanticized or idealized vision of the place, one that is stark, rugged, and steeped in a kind of mythic stillness. However, the reality he encounters—represented by the surprising candy sales—seems to undercut or complicate this vision, adding to the sense of disillusionment that permeates the poem.

The poem also touches on the theme of legal and territorial disputes, particularly in the lines about smelt "trapped in the river by a summer habit, limit of old netting rights ignored." The mention of an "officed lawyer far away" who has read the treaty introduces a sense of distance and detachment from the land's immediate realities. The lawyer's "sense of rightness" is described as being "rounded in a bar," implying that his judgments are shaped in places of comfort and indulgence, far removed from the actual lives and livelihoods affected by these legalities.

The final lines of the poem emphasize the transitory and permeable nature of borders. The "broker's pier" measures the day in "kings and jacks," a reference to the salmon that are caught and sold, highlighting the commodification of nature. However, Hugo quickly shifts to the idea that "Your land ends at this border, water and stone, mobile in tide, diffuse in storm, but here." This statement underscores the impermanence and fluidity of borders, especially when confronted by the forces of nature. The "final fist of island rock" that "does not strike space away" suggests that even the most solid and permanent-seeming landmarks are ultimately powerless to impose human order on the natural world.

The poem concludes with a stark image: "Swim and you are not in your country." This line reinforces the idea that the boundaries humans set—whether legal, geographical, or emotional—are fragile and easily crossed. In the end, the natural world remains indifferent to these constructs, and those who venture beyond the familiar may find themselves in a place where the rules no longer apply.

"La Push" is a meditation on the intersections between human expectations and the natural world, and the ways in which both can confound and unsettle. Hugo's imagery and language evoke a landscape that is at once beautiful and treacherous, where the lines between right and wrong, ownership and dispossession, are constantly shifting. Through this poem, Hugo invites the reader to reflect on the limitations of human control and the enduring power of nature.

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