Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

May Swenson?s "In Progress" is a vivid exploration of death, creativity, and the visceral experience of both as transformative forces. The poem reads like a darkly luminous meditation, filled with striking imagery that reflects the interplay of vitality and finality. Swenson?s language is layered, evoking a fountain as both a literal object and a symbol of creative and destructive energy, pouring forth a relentless flow of imagery.

The title "In Progress" suggests both incompletion and motion. It conveys the ongoing nature of creation, transformation, and the process of confronting mortality. This duality is central to the poem, which is marked by the tension between movement and stasis, eruption and containment. The “fountain” serves as a central metaphor, embodying these contrasts. It is a source of life and energy—“everbright blood”—yet it also signifies death and dissolution, with its "Black River" evoking the inexorable pull of mortality.

The fountain’s description is both sensual and menacing. Swenson’s use of color imagery—“Black Lily, Black Rain,” “Black River”—paints a somber and dramatic picture, with black symbolizing both mystery and the void. The recurrent mention of blood and its flow ties the fountain to the human body, reinforcing the connection between physicality and the metaphysical. This flow mirrors both the creative act—poetry or art as something that spills forth from the creator—and the act of dying, where the body returns its life force to the earth.

Swenson’s choice of language intensifies the poem’s physicality. Words like “spattering,” “leaking,” “gush,” and “bubble” create a tactile, almost visceral texture. The imagery of blood “pouting out, unbraiding” into a widening river suggests not only the physicality of death but also its relentless spread. The fountain becomes a site of paradox: it is both a symbol of creation—constantly generating new forms—and a reminder of decay and finality.

The poem’s tone shifts subtly from the external to the intimate with the imperative “Kiss them. / Cut your tongue afresh.” These lines draw the reader directly into the fountain’s ominous yet enticing flow, suggesting an act of surrender or communion. The act of cutting the tongue can be read metaphorically as the poet’s willingness to endure pain for the sake of creation—an acceptance of suffering as part of the artistic process. The fountain becomes not just an external symbol but a deeply personal one, tied to the act of speaking, writing, and expressing.

The juxtaposition of images—“Black Widow, female hourglass,” “Black Swan, red saddle”—adds to the poem’s rich symbolism. These figures evoke elegance and danger, beauty and fatality. The Black Widow’s hourglass connotes the passage of time, tying the fountain’s flow to the inevitability of death. The Black Swan, often a symbol of rare beauty or transformation, is here saddled in red, suggesting a burden or wound that accompanies its grace.

The poem crescendos with the image of “Eclipse, the jet mare,” an embodiment of raw energy and the sublime. The mare’s fatal fall—her blood rushing as she stumbles and crushes her rider—becomes a powerful symbol of the destructive potential of unchecked energy. Yet, even in this destruction, there is an outpouring of “images forced free,” as if creativity and destruction are inseparably linked. The mare’s fall mirrors the act of artistic surrender, where something is inevitably lost to gain expression or insight.

The final lines, with their focus on the fountain’s “spouts” achieving a “final profile,” suggest a moment of resolution. The fountain’s flow, chaotic and uncontainable throughout the poem, ultimately finds shape and balance. This moment could symbolize the culmination of life’s energy into art, the resolution of chaos into form. The “final profile” evokes both death’s closure and the artist’s completed work—a paradoxical monument to the ongoing process of creation.

"In Progress" is a deeply resonant poem that navigates the complexities of existence, art, and mortality. Through its dense imagery and layered symbolism, Swenson creates a world where life and death are not opposites but intertwined forces. The fountain becomes a metaphor for both the outpouring of life and the inevitability of its cessation, encapsulating the tension and beauty of being “in progress.” This poem, with its rich texture and evocative depth, stands as a testament to the power of poetry to grapple with the most profound questions of human experience.

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