Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Wendell Berry's "Horses" is a deeply reflective and evocative poem that explores themes of change, loss, and reconnection with the natural world. Through a personal narrative that spans from the poet's boyhood to his adult years, Berry contrasts the traditional ways of farming with horses to the mechanization of agriculture, highlighting the profound impacts these changes have on human relationships with the land, animals, and community.

The poem begins with a nostalgic recollection of Berry's youth, a time when farms were worked with teams of horses, and a teamster's skill was both admired and essential. This world, where learning to work with horses was a rite of passage for boys, symbolizes a harmony between humans and nature, where knowledge and respect were passed down through generations. The act of handling the reins, learning "the other tongue" by which men communicated with beasts, represents a deep connection to the natural world and an understanding of the mutual respect and power shared between human and animal.

However, Berry notes a pivotal shift in this harmonious existence with the advent of tractors and mechanization. The arrival of machines marks the end of an era; horses become obsolete, relegated to "keepsakes" or sold off, their presence in the fields replaced by the "revolution of engines." This transition signifies not only a change in farming practices but a profound loss of connection and communication between humans and the natural world. The "old speech" that once empowered humans to work in partnership with animals "fell dead in our mouths," replaced by the impersonal and destructive power of machinery.

Berry laments the consequences of this shift, noting how the "revolution of engines" led humans to embrace the "numb endurance of metal" and to enter the world with the force of combustion. This new way of interacting with the earth, powered by the burning of its body, reveals the limits of both the world and human ambition. The poet mourns the loss of the "ever-returning song" of life's natural cycles, replaced by the finite and consuming nature of mechanized work.

Yet, the poem does not end in despair. Berry recounts a moment of reawakening, a return to the old ways through necessity—some parts of the farm "unreachable by machines." In acquiring a team of horses, Berry rekindles the lost connection with the natural world. The act of working with the mares, feeling the reins in his hands, and reviving the cries of communication between man and beast, symbolizes a healing and a return to a more integrated and respectful existence.

"Horses" culminates in a powerful affirmation of life, work, and community as Berry describes his labor with the horses as a "work of love" that "rhymes living and dead." The poem transforms the act of farming into a sacred dance, a celebration of continuity and renewal that connects the past with the present, the living with the memory of the departed. Through this return to traditional ways, Berry finds a path home, not just to a physical place but to a way of being in the world that honors the cycles of growth and decay, the bonds between humans and animals, and the enduring song of the earth itself.

In "Horses," Wendell Berry offers a poignant meditation on the costs of progress and the possibility of redemption through a conscious return to practices that foster harmony and respect for the natural world. The poem stands as a testament to the enduring power of connection and the transformative potential of remembering and reclaiming lost ways of living.

POEM TEXT: https://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2008/12/saturday-poetry.html

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