Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Hieroglyphic" by Eamon Grennan captures the timeless and interconnected nature of man and the environment through the vivid depiction of Tommy Joyce, a farmer working the land. The poem weaves together the physical labor of hay turning, the dynamic elements of nature, and the ephemeral yet enduring presence of life and sound.

The poem opens with a clear image of Tommy Joyce: "Bent over his time-polished pitchfork, Tommy Joyce - who's turning hay / In the big wind blowing in from the Atlantic." This description immediately places Joyce within the natural landscape, engaging in a traditional activity that links him to generations of farmers before him. The "time-polished pitchfork" suggests both the longevity of the tool and the continuity of human labor across time.

Grennan then elevates Joyce to a symbolic figure: "is the mobile hieroglyph / For Man-who-belongs-here or Two-hundred-years-ago." This metaphor transforms Joyce into a living symbol of endurance and connection to the land, representing both the present and the past. His actions are not just practical but also imbued with historical and cultural significance.

The poem further connects Joyce to the natural world: "The sign of a local tree, the sycamore wearing its pied bark and giving / Leafy tongue to the air's passage through it." The sycamore tree, with its distinctive bark and interaction with the wind, parallels Joyce's presence and labor. The "leafy tongue" personifies the tree, suggesting it communicates the wind's movement, much like Joyce embodies the human connection to the land.

Grennan uses language to convey the flow and continuity of time: "that long run-on sentence / Trembling towards its final verb which can be days in coming." The "run-on sentence" metaphorically represents the ongoing processes of nature and life, culminating in an undefined conclusion that mirrors the endless cycle of seasons and human activity.

Amidst this natural and human activity, the blackbird appears: "in which / The invisible blackbird goes on making music, is an inky swirl on / Shadow paper, a sounding heart in the heart of uproar." The blackbird's song is depicted as both a physical presence and a metaphorical "inky swirl," suggesting its transient but impactful presence in the landscape. The bird's "sounding heart" adds a layer of auditory imagery to the scene, highlighting the beauty and persistence of life amidst chaos.

The poem closes with a striking image: "a brushed text / That would say, could we see it, High wind: morning all tossed about, / His incendiary yellow-ringed eye running rings out to the rings of Saturn." This final metaphor suggests that if the scene could be translated into text, it would capture the dynamic energy of the high wind and the morning's tumultuous beauty. The "yellow-ringed eye" of the blackbird extending out to Saturn emphasizes the vastness and interconnectedness of the universe, linking the small, everyday moments to the cosmic scale.

"Hieroglyphic" by Eamon Grennan eloquently portrays the deep connection between man and nature through rich imagery and metaphor. The poem highlights the timeless nature of human labor and the enduring presence of life in the natural world, inviting readers to contemplate the profound and intricate relationships that define our existence. Through the symbolic figure of Tommy Joyce and the vibrant depiction of the landscape, Grennan captures the essence of continuity, resilience, and the perpetual dance of life and nature.

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