Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Brigit Pegeen Kelly?s "Live Dog Being Better Than a Dead Lion" is a poem that revels in the vividness of transient life and the unpredictable beauty of moments unfettered by caution. The title, an allusion to Ecclesiastes 9:4, anchors the poem in a contemplation of vitality and the worth of life over the grandeur of a bygone existence. Through its dynamic imagery, the poem contrasts the fleeting intensity of life with the rigid control often imposed by fear and caution.

The opening lines immerse us in a scene of abundance and transformation: "Rain. Rain from Baltimore. The ballroom floor / Is lit." The rainfall transforms the environment, imbuing it with a golden sheen that illuminates "the overWhelmed grasses" and the "starched ruff of the hedgerow." Kelly sets a stage where nature becomes both a spectacle and a metaphor for the vitality and excess of life, as the rain nourishes and overwhelms simultaneously. The sensory detail—rain, gold, hedgerows—creates a sense of fullness, underscoring the idea that life, in its immediacy, is to be cherished.

The image of dancers preparing to perform parallels the act of living itself. The dancers "tease / Their toes into shoes" and "tease their breath into stays," their actions reflecting the effort to preserve a fleeting moment, to hold onto the "luck" of being alive. The repetition of "Stay" underscores this desire for permanence in the face of life?s ephemerality. Yet, the stanza also acknowledges the inevitability of change: "the fields / Are full of rain and baby?s breath." These flowers, symbols of fragility and new beginnings, echo the poem?s central tension between the ephemeral and the eternal.

In the next section, Kelly introduces the redbird, a symbol of boldness and the refusal to be ensnared by caution. The bird "burst[s] his small buttons against the glass," a powerful image of unrestrained action, despite the consequences. The glass, characterized as "an innocent pretender," becomes a mirror for life?s illusions and limitations, which the bird attempts to defy. The bird’s "brave swan dive" is described as an act of commitment, a leap into the unknown that ends in human hands. The image of wearing the bird "like a boutonniere" transforms its demise into a symbol of vitality and courage, a reminder that true life is lived without reserve.

Kelly juxtaposes the bird?s bravery with a critique of cautious living, depicted through an almost mocking list of restrictions: "Stop, No Turn, Leave Your Shoes / At the Door." These admonitions symbolize the ways in which caution and fear constrain life, reducing it to a series of prohibitions. In contrast, the bird?s exuberance—its ability to "boot its small body beyond the Beyond"—celebrates the joy of transcending limitations, even at great cost.

The poem’s tone shifts in the final lines, which reflect on the aftermath of the bird’s boldness. The "wrecked grace of the morning" and its "tattered clouds" evoke the inevitable wear and tear of a life fully lived. Yet, these remnants are not signs of failure but transformations, as the clouds become "flowers" and the morning?s destruction gives way to renewal. The "pink flowers of Maryland" symbolize the enduring beauty that emerges from life?s wreckage, affirming the poem’s central theme of vitality over stasis.

Through its intricate imagery and layered symbolism, "Live Dog Being Better Than a Dead Lion" challenges the reader to embrace the unpredictable and fleeting nature of life. The poem celebrates the boldness of living fully and the resilience inherent in life?s transformations. Kelly’s lyrical exploration of vitality, set against the backdrop of caution and restraint, ultimately asserts that life’s worth lies not in its permanence but in its intensity and motion—a reminder to "stay the luck" and cherish the fleeting moments that illuminate existence.

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