Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

David Wagoner’s “Middle of Nowhere” is an intricate meditation on the concept of place, existence, and the limitations of perception. In this poem, Wagoner transforms a barren, unnamed patch of land into a philosophical landscape that challenges the reader?s understanding of presence, orientation, and meaning. By juxtaposing precise descriptions of the physical environment with abstract reflections on the nature of "nowhere," the poem invites contemplation of the relationship between self and world.

The poem opens with an assertion of the improbable: “To be here, in the first place, is sufficiently amazing.” From the outset, Wagoner positions existence itself as remarkable, setting the stage for a meditation on the significance—or insignificance—of place. The description of the landscape is spare and unwelcoming, dominated by “flat, tough, gray-green, prickly, star-shaped weeds” and “clay and shale.” These details ground the reader in a tangible environment, yet the starkness of the imagery emphasizes the desolation of the setting. The “cracked rock the size of a cornerstone” serves as a tenuous anchor in this vast, featureless expanse, a symbol of the human impulse to find landmarks and impose order on chaos.

Wagoner’s description of the landscape transitions seamlessly into an exploration of its abstract qualities. The cracks in the earth, described as “zigzagging / Under bleached husks and stems,” defy conventional directionality, leading “north / By south, upright by easterly, northwest by nothing.” This playful yet disorienting depiction underscores the futility of using familiar coordinates to navigate this space. The “sun,” described as “too high, too rigorous, too downright for measuring,” further reinforces the idea that traditional tools of orientation and measurement are inadequate here. The middle of nowhere resists being pinned down by human systems of understanding.

The poem then delves into the sensory experience of being in this space. Wagoner lists the faculties that might aid in situating oneself—“perfect eyesight, a sense of smell, good taste, / A feeling for surfaces”—yet these are ultimately insufficient. The physical senses provide only fleeting moments of equilibrium, as suggested by the “balancing / Act of a kind...against / The odds for a moment.” This acknowledgment of fragility highlights the precariousness of human perception and its inability to fully grasp the nature of existence.

Wagoner’s assertion that “location is the same as dislocation” is one of the poem’s most profound statements. It encapsulates the paradox of trying to define or locate oneself in a universe that is both vast and indifferent. The “middle of nowhere,” he argues, is not a fixed point but a portable, reusable concept—an ever-present possibility. This idea reframes “nowhere” as both a literal and metaphysical space, a “hole in all the assembled data” through which one glimpses the ineffable.

The poem’s tone shifts as Wagoner considers the implications of this void. He describes it as “neither logical nor ecological,” emphasizing its resistance to categorization and its disconnection from the natural and human worlds. This space exists outside of the dichotomies and frameworks that typically structure our understanding of reality. In this sense, the middle of nowhere becomes a place of radical openness, where “truths or consequences” cannot be “filched or mastered or depended on.” The absence of these familiar structures leaves the speaker—and by extension, the reader—facing an unmediated reality.

The final lines of the poem further emphasize the starkness of this confrontation. Wagoner invokes “the Word,” a reference to the biblical concept of divine creation, only to reject it: “Not even, as it was in the beginning, the Word.” In this space, there is no cosmic or linguistic order, only the stark silence of the “middle of nowhere.” The mention of the magpie, whose “squawk” is absent, underscores this silence, suggesting that even nature’s smallest sounds are swallowed by the void.

Structurally, the poem mirrors its thematic exploration of dislocation. The free verse form allows Wagoner to shift between concrete descriptions and abstract musings, creating a sense of fluidity and unpredictability. The lack of a consistent meter or rhyme scheme reinforces the idea that this space resists order and definition. The enjambment, which often carries ideas across multiple lines, mimics the zigzagging cracks in the earth, further emphasizing the sense of disorientation.

“Middle of Nowhere” is a profound meditation on existence and the limitations of human understanding. Through vivid imagery and philosophical inquiry, Wagoner transforms a barren landscape into a site of existential reflection. The poem challenges readers to confront the void at the heart of their perceptions and to find meaning—or at least acceptance—in the absence of traditional markers of orientation and truth. In doing so, it offers a nuanced exploration of the human condition, one that is as unsettling as it is illuminating.

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