Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Marge Piercy's poem "Growing Up Haunted" delves into the personal and collective traumas of post-World War II adolescence, juxtaposing the superficial prosperity of the 1950s with the haunting memories of Holocaust survivors and the losses they endured. The poem opens with a vivid metaphor: "When I enter through the hatch of memory those claustrophobic chambers," immediately setting a tone of confinement and introspection. The poet recalls her adolescence during the "booming fifties of General Eisenhower, General Foods and General Motors," highlighting the era's material prosperity and industrial growth, yet these memories are tainted by the "obsolescent mannequins in Dior frocks armored, prefabricated bodies," suggesting an artificial and superficial existence.

The duality of dreams and nightmares pervades the poem. While the dreams are described as "mannequins in Dior frocks," representing the era's commercial and cultural aspirations, the nightmares are "powerful as a wine red sky and wall of fire," evoking the horror and destruction of the Holocaust. This stark contrast underscores the underlying fear and trauma that shadowed the apparent prosperity of the time.

Piercy vividly captures the omnipresence of fear: "Fear was the underside of every leaf we turned," a pervasive and inescapable part of daily life. This fear is rooted in the knowledge of the Holocaust's atrocities, "that our cousins, our other selves, had been starved and butchered to ghosts." The poet reflects on the existential question posed by these memories: "why are you living and all those mirror selves, sisters, gone into smoke like stolen cigarettes." This line poignantly addresses the survivor's guilt and the randomness of survival, a recurring theme in the reflections of Holocaust descendants.

The poem's emotional core is encapsulated in the memory of the poet's grandmother learning about the deaths of her loved ones: "girls she bathed with, young men with whom she shyly flirted, wooden shul where her father rocked and prayed, red haired aunt plucking the balalaika." These personal, intimate memories contrast with the vastness of the loss, transforming vibrant lives and cultural heritage into mere "shadows on a yellow page."

Piercy's poem is not only a remembrance but also a call to vigilance. The ghosts of the past admonish: "Assume no future you may not have to fight for, to die for." This imperative reflects the poet's awareness of the fragility of peace and the necessity of remaining vigilant against the forces that threaten it. The ghosts, representing the lost potential of those who perished, gather "on the foot of my bed each night," a haunting reminder of the legacy of trauma carried by the survivors and their descendants.

The final lines encapsulate the weight of this inherited memory: "What you carry in your blood is us, the books we did not write, music we could not make, a world gone from gristle to smoke, only as real now as words can make it." Here, Piercy emphasizes the responsibility of the living to remember and give voice to the silenced past. The transformation of a vibrant world into "gristle to smoke" highlights the brutality of the Holocaust, while the assertion that this world is "only as real now as words can make it" underscores the importance of memory and storytelling in preserving history.

"Growing Up Haunted" is a deeply evocative poem that captures the intersection of personal memory, historical trauma, and the persistent duty to remember. Through her rich and poignant imagery, Marge Piercy conveys the profound impact of the Holocaust on subsequent generations, emphasizing the importance of vigilance, remembrance, and the enduring power of words to keep the past alive.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...