Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Brigit Pegeen Kelly’s "Rose of Sharon" is a deeply introspective and richly imagistic meditation on beauty, impermanence, and the intimate relationship between nature and human emotion. The poem moves through layers of sensory experience and memory, intertwining the speaker’s reverence for the tree with a profound sorrow for its loss. Kelly’s language, lush and tactile, draws readers into the emotional resonance of the Rose of Sharon’s transience and the existential questions it inspires.

The opening lines establish the speaker’s adoration for the tree, beginning with its name, "Rose of Sharon," a phrase that carries biblical and poetic connotations. The tree’s blossoms are described as "fleshy," "fat," and ephemeral, their fleeting beauty a central focus. Kelly’s choice of imagery is strikingly physical, imbuing the tree with a sensuous vitality. The blossoms "fall fast," their brief existence mirroring the impermanence of life itself.

The speaker’s interaction with the tree reveals a blend of innocence and cruelty. The spilled seed beneath the bush becomes a spectacle of conflict as "doves, / Mean as spit, fought the finches and the sparrows." The act of throwing seed "just to watch the birds fight" introduces a moment of self-awareness, as the speaker acknowledges their complicity in stirring the natural world’s more savage instincts. This dynamic—between the beauty of the tree and the violence it attracts—foreshadows the later destruction of the Rose of Sharon.

Kelly’s ability to shift between the tender and the grotesque is evident in her description of the blossoms. They are likened to "the dog’s bright penis first emerging / From its hairy sheath" and "the warm air above the pool of Siloam." These comparisons juxtapose the raw and the divine, underscoring the complexity of the speaker’s relationship with the tree. The blossoms are both sacred and profane, their beauty deeply entwined with the speaker’s corporeal and spiritual perceptions.

The narrative takes a poignant turn with the tree’s sudden destruction: "An ice storm felled the tree. / With a clean cut, as if with a hatchet." This abrupt loss introduces a stark contrast to the earlier vibrancy of the Rose of Sharon. The once-abundant tree, described as "a perpetual feast," is reduced to "bare grass," leaving the birds waiting in vain for the seed the speaker no longer throws. This shift from abundance to emptiness mirrors the speaker’s own emotional desolation, as the loss of the tree becomes a symbol for deeper existential grief.

The speaker’s sorrow is heightened by the memory of the tree’s gifts: "A whole flock of birds. One year a crop of fruit / That melted on the tongue, a kind of manna." These moments of abundance are tinged with a spiritual quality, as the tree provided sustenance akin to divine grace. The juxtaposition of these memories with the present absence emphasizes the irrevocability of loss. The Rose of Sharon, once a source of joy and wonder, now exists only in memory.

In the final lines, the speaker reflects on the tree’s awareness of its fate, asking, "Did the bush fear the ice? Did it know of the ice’s / Black designs?" This anthropomorphism imbues the tree with a sentience that deepens the speaker’s mourning. The questions linger without answers, highlighting the unknowability of nature’s experiences and the human tendency to project emotion onto the natural world. The "featherweight nature" of the tree, once a source of beauty and delight, becomes a metaphor for its fragility and, by extension, the fragility of life itself.

“Rose of Sharon” is a powerful exploration of the interplay between beauty and destruction, memory and loss. Kelly’s evocative language and intricate imagery create a vivid portrait of a tree that transcends its physicality, becoming a symbol of the speaker’s deepest affections and sorrows. Through the lens of the Rose of Sharon, the poem invites readers to consider the fleeting nature of all things and the weight of the questions that linger in their wake.

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