Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Gary Snyder’s "Logging: 1" is a compact yet richly evocative poem that entwines nature, mythology, and ecological consciousness. The poem captures a cyclical rhythm, reflecting the natural processes of renewal and decay while subtly invoking the intrusion of human activity into the wilderness. Snyder’s characteristic blending of deep ecological awareness with ancient myth and ritual makes this piece both a reflection on the natural world and an elegy for what is lost.

The poem opens with an astronomical observation that is simultaneously scientific and poetic: "The morning star is not a star." This line immediately sets the tone for a work that challenges perceptions and distinctions. The morning star—Venus—is often mistaken for a star, but it is in fact a planet, just as much of what we assume to be stable or natural is subject to deeper complexities. This serves as an underlying theme throughout the poem: things are not always as they appear, and the systems of the world, both natural and cultural, are built on layers of illusion and revelation.

The next lines, "Two seedling fir, one died," juxtapose birth and death in a single breath. The simplicity of the statement belies its depth—two trees begin, but only one survives. The delicate balance of life is underscored, hinting at the fragility of the natural world and perhaps alluding to human intervention in logging, where forests are thinned, altered, and reshaped. The lack of punctuation reinforces the starkness of this reality—there is no elaboration, just the unembellished fact of loss.

“Io, Io,” introduces an invocation that resonates with both mythological and ritualistic significance. In Greek mythology, Io was a mortal lover of Zeus, transformed into a heifer and subjected to wanderings. Her name, repeated as an exclamation, echoes the celebratory cry of ancient festivals, particularly those linked to fertility and spring. The tension between suffering and renewal, embodied in Io’s myth, suggests that the poem is engaging with cycles of destruction and rebirth—echoing the impact of logging and human disturbance in nature.

The following lines, “Girdled in wisteria / Wound with ivy” evoke images of entanglement, of nature both flourishing and constrained. Wisteria and ivy, though beautiful, are aggressive plants that can strangle and overpower trees. In the context of logging, this could symbolize nature’s resilience and reclamation of spaces that humans alter. However, it also suggests an uneasy relationship between different forces—growth that is both life-giving and potentially suffocating.

Snyder then shifts to direct commentary on tradition and its buried origins: “The May Queen / Is the survival of / A pre-human / Rutting season.” This reference to the May Queen—an iconic figure in European spring festivals—connects human customs to their deep, animalistic roots. Before the refinement of ritual and symbolic celebration, there was the biological imperative: mating, reproduction, the wild energy of survival. Snyder reminds us that civilization has layered meaning over primal urges, yet the underlying drives remain. Just as the forests experience cycles of growth and destruction, human culture carries echoes of its ancient past beneath its polished surface.

The poem’s focus then shifts back to the natural world in motion: “The year spins / Pleiades sing to their rest.” The reference to the Pleiades—the cluster of stars associated with seasonal changes in many cultures—connects celestial timekeeping to earthly rhythms. In some traditions, the setting of the Pleiades in the sky marked the beginning of agricultural cycles or hunting seasons. The phrasing “sing to their rest” gives the stars a voice, personifying the heavens and reinforcing the idea that nature is alive and engaged in its own rituals.

A striking shift occurs in “at San Francisco dream dream”—an abrupt movement to an urban setting. This interjection places the natural world in contrast with human civilization, particularly one as developed and bustling as San Francisco. The city becomes a place of dreaming, possibly suggesting detachment from the natural cycles that Snyder reveres. The repetition of “dream” creates an almost hypnotic rhythm, as if the city exists in a state of illusion, removed from the realities of nature’s patterns.

Yet, despite human presence, nature persists: “Green comes out of the ground / Birds squabble.” Life regenerates itself, with plants emerging from the earth and birds asserting their place in the ecosystem. The use of “squabble” introduces a tone of disorder and competition, a reminder that the natural world is not idyllic but full of its own struggles and tensions. This is not a passive renewal but an active, even contentious, resurgence.

The final lines bring a sense of primal urgency and ritualistic energy: “Young girls run mad with the pine bough, Io.” The image of young girls frenzied, holding pine boughs, ties back to ancient fertility rites and Dionysian celebrations, where wildness and nature merged with human expression. The mention of “Io” once more invokes the idea of sacred frenzy, of being overtaken by forces beyond oneself. This moment blurs the boundary between human and nature—suggesting that, despite our modern disconnection, we are still deeply entwined in the ancient rhythms of the earth.

"Logging: 1" is a poem of cycles—life and death, growth and destruction, civilization and wilderness. Snyder weaves together myth, natural imagery, and human ritual to present a vision of the world that is at once historical and immediate. The brevity of the poem, with its compact yet potent lines, mirrors the fleeting nature of life and change, while the recurring invocations and celestial references situate human activity within a much grander, cosmic framework. It is a meditation on how we shape and are shaped by the land, how we impose order on natural chaos, and how, despite everything, the deeper rhythms of existence persist.

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