Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Totem" by Eamon Grennan is a contemplative and richly detailed poem that explores the decay of a carved pumpkin left outside after Halloween. Through vivid imagery and a reflective tone, Grennan delves into themes of impermanence, the passage of time, and the transformation of once-vibrant objects into symbols of mortality and change.

The poem begins with the aftermath of Halloween: "All Souls’ over, the roast seeds eaten, I set / on a backporch post our sculpted pumpkin / under the weather, warm still for November." This opening sets the scene of a transitional period, where the remnants of a festive occasion are left to face the elements. The pumpkin, once a centerpiece of celebration, now begins its slow journey of decay.

Grennan describes the initial stages of this transformation: "Night and day it gapes in at us / through the kitchen window, going soft / in the head." The personification of the pumpkin as "going soft in the head" evokes a sense of decline and loss of vitality. The image of the pumpkin "gaping" through the window adds a haunting, almost sentient quality to its presence.

As the decay progresses, the pumpkin becomes a feast for insects: "Sleepwalker-slow, a black rash of ants / harrows this hollow globe, munching / the pale peach flesh, sucking its seasoned / last juices dry." The slow, methodical consumption by ants underscores the inevitability of decay and the role of nature in recycling organic matter.

The poem captures the changing state of the pumpkin over time: "Within, / it turns mould-black in patches, stays / days like this while the weather takes it / in its shifty arms." The imagery of mold spreading inside the pumpkin and the weather "taking it in its shifty arms" suggests a passive surrender to natural forces.

Grennan reflects on the human-like qualities of the pumpkin as it decays: "Human, it would have / rotted beyond unhappiness and horror / to some unspeakable subject state—its nose / no more than a vertical hole." This comparison to a rotting human head emphasizes the grotesque and unsettling aspects of decay, as well as the inevitability of physical deterioration.

The poem continues to depict the pumpkin's deterioration: "It’s all downhill / from here: knuckles of sun, peremptory / steady fingers of frost, strain all day and night— / cracking the rind, kneading the knotted fibres / free." The personification of the sun and frost as they work on the pumpkin illustrates the relentless forces of nature that drive the process of decay.

As the pumpkin collapses, Grennan notes its final stages: "The whole / sad head drips tallowy tears: the end / is in sight." The image of the pumpkin "dripping tallowy tears" evokes a sense of sorrow and inevitability. The poem culminates in the pumpkin's complete collapse: "it topples on itself / like ruined thatch, pus-white drool spidering / from the corner of the mouth."

In the final stanzas, Grennan reflects on the significance of the decayed pumpkin: "it is in the bright unseasonable sunshine / a simmer of pulp, a slow bake, amber shell speckled / chalk-grey with lichen." The decayed pumpkin becomes a symbol of impermanence, its once-vibrant form now reduced to a "helmet of dark circles, death caul."

The poem concludes with a meditation on the empty space left behind: "When the pumpkin / lapses to our common ground at last—where / a swaddle of snow will fold it in no time / from sight—I try to take in the empty space it’s left / on top of the wooden post: it is that empty space." The empty space symbolizes the void left by the pumpkin's decay, a reminder of the transient nature of life and the inevitability of change.

"Totem" by Eamon Grennan is a poignant and thought-provoking exploration of decay and transformation. Through detailed and evocative imagery, Grennan captures the process of a once-celebrated object returning to the earth, reflecting on themes of impermanence and the cycles of nature. The poem invites readers to consider the beauty and inevitability of change, as well as the empty spaces left behind by the passage of time.

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