Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Lastness: 6" by Galway Kinnell is a meditation on the themes of division, love, and the inevitable descent of life towards its end. The poem uses powerful imagery to convey the internal conflict and the external forces that shape the human experience.

The poem opens with a questioning tone, "This poem / if we shall call it that," suggesting a contemplation of the nature of poetry and its ability to capture complex human emotions and experiences. Kinnell refers to the poem as a "concert of one / divided among himself," indicating a fragmentation within the self, a common human experience where one's inner life is often a battleground of conflicting emotions and thoughts.

"This earthward gesture / of the sky-diver" introduces the central metaphor of the poem. The sky-diver, representing an individual in the act of free fall, embodies the inevitable descent towards death. The "worms / on his back still spinning forth / and already gnawing away / the silks of his loves" add a layer of decay and mortality, suggesting that even as we move through life, the forces of entropy and dissolution are at work, eroding the beauty and connections we hold dear. The imagery of worms gnawing away at the "silks of his loves" conveys a sense of loss and the fragility of the bonds we form.

The phrase "who could have saved him" implies a missed opportunity or a sense of regret. It suggests that love and human connections have the potential to offer salvation or respite from the descent, but often, this potential is unrealized or lost.

The poem continues with "this free floating of one / opening his arms into the attitude / of flight," capturing the paradoxical nature of the human condition. Even as we fall, there is a semblance of flight, a moment of grace or surrender. The "attitude of flight" can be seen as a gesture of acceptance, an acknowledgment of the inevitable fall while still maintaining a semblance of control or dignity.

"As he obeys the necessity and falls . . ." concludes the poem with a sense of inevitability. The use of "necessity" underscores the inescapable nature of mortality. The act of falling, while a descent, is also a surrender to the natural order, a submission to the forces that govern life and death.

Kinnell's "Lastness: 6" encapsulates the tension between life's fleeting beauty and the inexorable pull of mortality. The imagery of the sky-diver, the worms, and the act of free fall all contribute to a meditation on the human condition, emphasizing both the inevitability of death and the moments of grace that occur as we move towards it. The poem's reflective tone invites readers to contemplate their own experiences of division, love, and acceptance in the face of life's ultimate descent.

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