Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "The Explorer," William Matthews delves into themes of memory, loss, and the passage of time, using the life of an explorer as a metaphor for introspection and discovery. The prose poem opens with a vivid image of the "bellowing of elks" stretching across great distances, their sound diminished and "sag[ging] like a dowser's wand." This simile evokes a sense of seeking and searching, as dowsers use their rods to locate water, suggesting a quest for something elusive. The phrase "All messages seep to freezing" further emphasizes the idea of communication and understanding being hindered or slowed by the cold, a metaphor for emotional distance or detachment.

The poem shifts to a brief recounting of the explorer's traumatic childhood experiences. At the age of four, he loses a favorite aunt in a tram explosion, and by six, he learns of his father's departure with a one-armed ventriloquist. The mother's bitter quip, "Like half a parrot," injects a note of dark humor into the narrative, highlighting the absurdity and pain of the situation. This line encapsulates the fragmentary nature of the father's departure, both physically and emotionally incomplete.

As the poem reflects on these past events, it suggests that the explorer's childhood can now be viewed with the clarity of hindsight, "flies open like a milkweed pod or a cracked safe." This imagery suggests that the secrets and experiences of his past are now exposed, open to examination. Despite the dramatic nature of these events, the explorer himself seemed indifferent to them, caring little for the drama and finding grammar boring—a detail that emphasizes his disinterest in conventional structures and norms.

The poem mentions a "farewell poem," the only surviving artifact of the explorer's inner life, noted for its "artlessness." This poem, curiously, omits any reference to the significant figures of his aunt or father, instead being etched into the "toeleather of the famous half-eaten boot." This detail evokes a sense of desolation and survival, possibly alluding to the explorer's isolation and the harshness of his experiences. The boot, half-consumed, symbolizes the toll taken by his journey, both physically and emotionally.

The speaker of the poem reflects on what might have "erased" the explorer, suggesting a complete departure or disappearance. The imagery of watching "the skimming shrunken shadow below us" from a helicopter likens the explorer to a "pilot fish" accompanying a shark, a minor player in the larger narrative of life. This perspective shift underscores a sense of detachment and observation, as the speaker considers the explorer's life from a distance, both literally and metaphorically.

The final lines convey a profound realization of moving beyond the past. The speaker observes "a distance to be fallen through," contemplating the steps below as "a stack of stalled decisions, a tower of saucers of ice." This imagery reflects the precariousness of past choices and the accumulated weight of unresolved matters. The "tower of saucers of ice" suggests fragility and the potential for collapse, mirroring the fragility of human decisions and the transient nature of life experiences.

In concluding, the poem asserts that "a past that no longer matters even as I leave it behind." This line encapsulates the theme of transcendence and the liberation from the past's hold. The explorer's life, with its losses and absences, serves as a metaphor for the human condition—the journey of exploration and discovery, the weight of memory, and the ultimate release from its constraints.

"The Explorer" by William Matthews is a contemplative poem that examines the intersections of personal history, loss, and the pursuit of meaning. Through evocative imagery and reflections on the explorer's life, Matthews explores the complexity of human experience and the often elusive nature of understanding one's own past. The poem's introspective tone invites readers to consider their own journeys and the remnants of the past they carry with them.

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