Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

 Anne Sexton's "Letter Written on a Ferry While Crossing Long Island Sound" is a profound meditation on separation, loss, and the elusive nature of salvation. The poem, written in the form of a letter, captures a moment of transition as the speaker crosses the Long Island Sound, reflecting on a physical and emotional departure that leaves her in a state of melancholy and existential contemplation.

The poem opens with the speaker's acknowledgment of the ocean's persistence, a reminder of the continuity of the natural world despite personal upheavals. The ocean becomes a symbol of enduring, impersonal forces that contrast sharply with the speaker's sense of isolation. The speaker notes that she has "ripped [her] hand / from your hand" and has made it this far, suggesting a painful but necessary severance from someone significant. This action, though carried out as intended, has not brought any sense of resolution or closure—"although everything has happened, / nothing has happened."

Sexton’s use of the ocean as a metaphor for the Virgin Mary, "without miracles or rage / or unusual hope," deepens the theme of disillusionment. The sea, like Mary, is "grown rough and wrinkled / with incurable age," representing a worn, tired version of faith or salvation that no longer offers the comfort or miracles once believed in. This portrayal of the sea reflects the speaker's inner desolation, a feeling that even the divine has aged and become distant, no longer the source of miraculous intervention.

As the poem progresses, the speaker's observations shift from the vastness of the sea to the minutiae around her—"the orange letters that spell / ORIENT on the life preserver," "the cement lifeboat," and "the faded sign that sits on its shelf / saying KEEP OFF." These details ground the poem in the immediate reality of the ferry, contrasting with the speaker's internal, more abstract reflections. The life preserver and lifeboat symbolize the promise of safety, yet the speaker's resigned statement, "Oh, all right, I say, / I'll save myself," underscores her recognition that such safety is illusory, and any salvation must come from within.

The poem's most striking imagery comes with the introduction of the four nuns, who "sit like a bridge club," seemingly innocent and detached from the speaker's turmoil. The wind "pulls the skirts / of their arms," almost undressing them, reducing them to "that holy wrist, / that ankle, / that chain." These nuns, symbols of faith and purity, are depicted as being at the mercy of the same forces that trouble the speaker, suggesting that even the devout are not immune to the ravages of time and nature.

The speaker's plea to God to let the nuns "rise out / over this greasy deck" and "fly" transforms them into ethereal beings, ascending towards a paradise that remains out of reach for the speaker. The nuns, in their imagined flight, become "lighter than flying dogs / or the breath of dolphins," embodying a purity and freedom that the speaker longs for but cannot attain. This image of ascension contrasts sharply with the speaker's own grounded, despondent state, highlighting her feelings of being trapped in a reality that offers little solace.

In the final lines, the nuns "call back to us / from the gauzy edge of paradise, / good news, good news." This message from the nuns, though ostensibly hopeful, is tinged with irony, as the speaker remains on the ferry, unable to join them in their ascent. The "good news" they bring seems distant and unattainable, a reminder of the spiritual or emotional salvation that remains beyond the speaker's grasp.

"Letter Written on a Ferry While Crossing Long Island Sound" is a deeply introspective poem that explores themes of loss, faith, and the search for meaning in a world that feels increasingly disconnected and indifferent. Sexton's vivid imagery and poignant reflections convey a sense of yearning and resignation, as the speaker grapples with the realization that while others may find their way to a paradise of sorts, she remains tethered to a reality from which there is no easy escape. The poem leaves the reader with a haunting sense of the impossibility of true transcendence, even as it acknowledges the enduring human desire for it.

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