Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Dara Wier's "The Italics Are Mine!" is a meditation on attention, presence, and the act of bearing witness, couched in language that oscillates between the concrete and the ephemeral. The poem operates as a study in contrasts: the interplay of stillness and motion, silence and sound, the visible and the elusive. Wier invites readers to experience the act of observation as an active, transformative process, where the line between the observer and the observed blurs, and the mundane is imbued with a sense of the extraordinary.

The poem opens with a paradox: "There was breathing but there were no bodies / Anywhere to be found." This unsettling image sets the tone for a piece that probes the boundaries of perception and presence. Breathing, a quintessentially human and life-affirming act, is disembodied here, suggesting an absence that is both haunting and enigmatic. The absence of bodies does not diminish the act of breathing; rather, it amplifies it, turning it into an almost spectral phenomenon that commands attention.

As the poem progresses, the speaker describes a collective act of tuning in: "so we switched ourselves / Down a couple of notches and we barely moved / And we really listened." This deliberate act of slowing down and recalibrating one’s senses underscores the theme of heightened awareness. The repetition of "really listened" emphasizes the intensity of this engagement, as if the act of listening were a discipline requiring effort, patience, and intentionality. The imagery evokes a sense of readiness, as though the listeners are on the cusp of revelation, poised to catch something fleeting and profound.

The poem’s exploration of observation extends to the physical act of seeing: "in case we could catch a glimpse or / Get an inkling or see something around the edges / Of everything available & then some." Here, Wier captures the liminality of perception—the edges, the thresholds where the known meets the unknown. The phrase "everything available & then some" suggests that true understanding lies beyond the readily accessible, in the periphery or the margins, where intuition and imagination take over.

Wier's use of imagery is strikingly tactile and deliberate, as seen in the description of removing a glove: "One can remove a glove if one wants to remove a glove / Very slowly one finger at a time almost reluc- / Tantly if at all." This painstakingly slow gesture mirrors the careful attention described earlier, turning a mundane act into a moment of significance. The hesitance implied in "almost reluctantly" underscores the delicacy of the moment, as if the act of uncovering—whether a hand or a hidden truth—carries weight and consequence.

The poem takes a dramatic turn with the arrival of meteors: "meteors / Started streaking into earth’s atmosphere leaving / Long broad gauze trails in their wakes." The suddenness of this cosmic event contrasts sharply with the earlier stillness, injecting a sense of dynamism and awe. The meteors’ "gauze trails" evoke a sense of both beauty and fragility, as if the heavens themselves are performing a fleeting, sublime spectacle for the attentive observers.

As the meteors streak across the sky, the long-dreaded breathing materializes: "gasps, audible / Awes, little sighs, pink squeals, now and then / Chrashingly thunderous rounds of applause almost." The catalog of sounds reflects a spectrum of human responses, from subtle and intimate to overwhelming and communal. The juxtaposition of "pink squeals" with "chrashingly thunderous rounds of applause" highlights the poem’s interplay between the delicate and the dramatic, the personal and the collective.

The final line, "Shocking, and it was," serves as a powerful conclusion. The understated simplicity of the statement belies the depth of its impact, encapsulating the transformative nature of the experience. The poem ends on a note of wonder and affirmation, suggesting that the act of paying attention—to the world, to others, to oneself—can yield moments of profound connection and meaning.

"The Italics Are Mine!" exemplifies Wier’s gift for weaving the ethereal and the concrete into a cohesive whole. The poem invites readers to slow down, to listen, and to look more closely, reminding us that the world’s mysteries often lie just beyond the edges of our perception. Through its vivid imagery and deliberate pacing, the poem celebrates the act of bearing witness as an essential and deeply human endeavor. It is a call to embrace both the silence and the spectacle, finding beauty and significance in the interplay between the two.

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