Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"My Mother Dreams: If Her Husband Dies, Who Will Cut the Lawn" by Denise Duhamel is a poignant exploration of fear, aging, and the generational differences in handling life's uncertainties. Through the lens of the speaker’s mother, the poem navigates a landscape of personal anxiety and the broader societal implications of insecurity and change.

The poem begins with the mother’s practical concerns about her bank’s stability, sparking a series of worries that cascade into deeper fears about survival and security. The transfer of her money from one bank to another symbolizes her attempt to maintain control in a world that feels increasingly precarious. Her anxieties are rooted in her experiences of economic hardship during the Depression and World War II, experiences that taught her the importance of resourcefulness and caution.

As the poem unfolds, the mother's fears extend beyond financial security to personal safety and the wellbeing of her family. Her reluctance to let the speaker travel or live in places she perceives as dangerous (like California or New York) reflects a deep-seated desire to protect her child from the unpredictable dangers of the world. The suggestion that the speaker settle in a "small place with a small husband" further illustrates her preference for a life that is manageable and contained, presumably less susceptible to the chaos she fears.

The central metaphor of the poem—the uncut lawn in the mother's dream—serves as a powerful image of the mother's anxiety about the future, particularly her fear of being left alone without support after her husband's death. The overgrown grass and the snow that blocks her view symbolize her feelings of being overwhelmed and trapped by her circumstances. The dream reveals her vulnerability and the isolation that often accompanies aging.

The poem also touches on the speaker's own fears, which mirror but differ from her mother's. While the mother worries about immediate, tangible issues, the speaker is haunted by the specter of AIDS and the loss of friends, a reflection of a different kind of vulnerability to unseen, yet equally uncontrollable, forces. The speaker's dreams of dysfunctional banks and the breakdown of communication systems further parallel the mother’s fears, suggesting a shared underlying dread of a world where familiar structures and safety nets have collapsed.

The concluding image of the speaker comforting her parents in a rocking chair ties together the themes of care and familial responsibility. It is a reversal of roles, with the child now offering comfort and support to the parents. This moment of tenderness amidst the poem's darker themes emphasizes the enduring bonds of family and the comfort those bonds can provide, even in the face of overwhelming fear and uncertainty.

Overall, Duhamel’s poem is a moving examination of how fear shapes our actions and interactions. It captures the universal challenge of navigating a world filled with real and imagined dangers, and the ways in which we seek to protect ourselves and our loved ones from those threats. The poem's intergenerational perspective highlights both the differences and the similarities in how we cope with fear, ultimately underscoring the commonality of human experience across time and circumstance.

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