Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Maxine W. Kumin’s "October, Yellowstone Park" intertwines reflections on the natural world with a deeply personal elegy for a departed friend, Anne Sexton, the celebrated confessional poet. The poem juxtaposes the grandeur of Yellowstone?s autumnal beauty with the complexity of grief, memory, and survival, creating a poignant meditation on loss and resilience. Kumin’s precise imagery and introspective tone bridge the external landscapes of the park and the internal landscapes of mourning, exploring the intertwined rhythms of nature and human experience.

The poem opens with an idyllic tableau of Yellowstone in the late fall. Kumin vividly describes the animals grazing on the high plains: antelope, bison, and elk peacefully coexisting in the golden-green expanse. The imagery is lush and pastoral, yet tempered by a sense of impending hardship: “What awaits them this winter—which calves will starve to death...they are unaware.” This acknowledgment of nature’s harsh realities underscores the tension between the present moment’s beauty and the inevitability of suffering. Kumin’s language invites readers to marvel at the scene while contemplating its fragility.

Amid this natural serenity, Kumin shifts to a deeply personal reflection on the death of Anne Sexton, who died by suicide seventeen years earlier. Kumin’s grief is as raw as it is contemplative, manifesting in her memory of Sexton as a “better sister / than any I, who had none, could have conjured.” The parallel between the animals’ unawareness of their fates and the poet’s memory of Sexton’s death subtly suggests a shared vulnerability, whether in the natural world or human existence. Kumin’s lament is poignant but resolute, avoiding sentimentality as she acknowledges the enduring weight of loss.

The poem?s central turning point occurs as Kumin climbs the switchbacks of Yellowstone, ascending into the heights of memory and reflection. Her description of the climb is arduous: “sending loose shale clattering below, grimly, gradually ascending to a view of snowcaps and geysers.” The physical effort mirrors the emotional labor of confronting grief, underscored by the memory of Sexton’s vibrant, if self-destructive, personality. Kumin imagines Sexton’s voice accompanying her, “cheerfully cursing” the obstacles of life and career. The juxtaposition of this imagined voice against the starkness of the mountain landscape evokes both the intimacy of friendship and the isolation of mourning.

Kumin’s elegy reaches a moment of catharsis as she contemplates casting away Sexton’s lingering presence: “I want to fling your cigarette- / and whiskey-hoarse chuckle...down the back wall over Biscuit Basin.” This imagined act reflects a yearning to release the weight of memory and move forward. Yet Kumin ultimately abstains, recognizing that loss is not something to discard but to integrate. Her realization is mirrored in Yellowstone’s natural cycles of destruction and renewal: “Where wildfires crisped its hide and blackened / whole vistas, new life inched in.” This imagery of regrowth offers a metaphor for Kumin’s own process of healing, suggesting that resilience arises from enduring life’s devastations.

The poem’s closing stanzas return to the natural world, finding solace and reverence in Yellowstone’s wild inhabitants. The elk and his harem, grazing in the mist, become a symbol of grandeur and continuity. Kumin’s hope that tourists may be “ravished by this processional” reflects her belief in the power of nature to inspire awe and imprint lasting impressions. The antelope, shyly slipping into the herd, embodies a quiet grace that contrasts with the earlier tumult of grief. By observing these scenes, Kumin aligns her personal mourning with the broader rhythms of the natural world, finding a form of communion in their shared resilience.

Kumin concludes by addressing Sexton directly, framing her memory as a “golden” presence “hammered...against the anvil.” This image evokes both permanence and transformation, suggesting that while Sexton’s loss is deeply felt, her life and work have been forged into something enduring. Kumin’s refusal to compose another elegy is not an act of denial but a testament to the lasting impact of their friendship and Sexton’s legacy. The poet’s final gesture is one of acceptance, allowing the natural world to stand as a living memorial to the beauty and complexity of both their bond and the cycles of life and death.

"October, Yellowstone Park" is a masterful meditation on the interplay of grief and renewal, memory and nature. Kumin’s vivid descriptions of Yellowstone’s landscapes serve as both a backdrop and a metaphor for her reflections on loss, resilience, and the enduring impact of her friendship with Anne Sexton. By weaving personal mourning with the grandeur of the natural world, Kumin creates a poignant elegy that celebrates the beauty of life even as it confronts its inevitable transience. The poem’s strength lies in its ability to honor loss while affirming the possibility of renewal, leaving readers with a sense of both reverence and hope.

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