Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Susan Wood’s "The Soul Bone" is a contemplative and tender meditation on mortality, spirituality, and the persistent mystery of the soul. Through her thoughtful exploration of ancient beliefs, natural imagery, and personal reflection, Wood examines the interplay between the tangible and the ineffable. The poem unfolds as a journey of shifting perceptions, where the speaker moves from skepticism and fear to a tentative embrace of the soul’s enduring presence.

The poem opens with a candid admission: “Once I said I didn’t have a spiritual bone / in my body.” This blunt declaration sets a tone of intellectual resistance, where the speaker distances herself from questions of death and the soul. Her choice of words—“as though any bone in us / could escape it”—acknowledges the inescapability of death, framing the physical body as both vulnerable and finite. The use of the word “thud,” likened to a coffin lid, underscores the speaker’s initial fear of mortality, emphasizing its finality and unknowability. Her questioning of the soul—“but a homonym for loneliness?”—reveals a skeptical, almost melancholic view of spirituality as a placeholder for human isolation.

As the poem transitions to the speaker’s later years, the tone shifts toward curiosity and acceptance. In “late middle age, or more,” the speaker begins to imagine the soul as something tangible yet elusive, likening it to a “soul bone” hidden within her body. This shift from denial to imagination reflects a growing openness to mystery, where the soul becomes both a physical metaphor and a vessel for light and resilience. The image of the bone as “white as a tooth / that falls from a child’s mouth, a dove, / the cloud it can fly through” captures the soul’s dual nature—rooted in the body yet capable of transcending it. The dove and the cloud evoke freedom and purity, suggesting that the soul, like these natural elements, is ephemeral yet enduring.

Wood’s invocation of the Midrash and the concept of the luz bone adds a rich historical and spiritual dimension to the poem. The rabbis’ descriptions of the luz—“the size of a chickpea or an almond,” found “at the top of the spine or the base”—emphasize the soul’s mysterious and contested nature. The ambiguity of its location and size mirrors the elusive nature of spiritual belief itself. By connecting the luz to the Spanish word for light, Wood deepens the metaphor, suggesting that the soul is a source of illumination, both physical and metaphorical. The blending of religious tradition with natural imagery—wildflowers like boneset and pearly everlasting—creates a tapestry of interconnected symbols, grounding the abstract concept of the soul in the physical world.

The poem’s final lines are particularly poignant, as the speaker imagines the luz bone shining its light through her body. This luminous bone, “glowing in the dark,” becomes a beacon of inner strength and continuity. The idea that the bone’s light might be audible—“humming its brave little song”—imbues the soul with a sense of vitality and agency, transforming it from a static symbol into something dynamic and alive. The “brave little song” suggests resilience and defiance in the face of mortality, as if the soul, though small, carries an unyielding will to persist.

Wood’s language throughout the poem is both precise and evocative, blending scientific curiosity with poetic imagination. Her use of natural and historical imagery grounds the abstract themes of the soul and spirituality, making them accessible and relatable. The poem’s structure mirrors the speaker’s evolving relationship with the concept of the soul, moving from denial and skepticism to wonder and acceptance.

At its core, "The Soul Bone" is a meditation on the ways we reconcile the tangible and the transcendent. Through its exploration of ancient beliefs, personal fears, and the beauty of natural persistence, the poem invites readers to reflect on their own understanding of the soul and its place within the human experience. Wood’s ability to weave historical and natural metaphors into a deeply personal narrative creates a work that resonates with universal questions about life, death, and the enduring mystery of what lies within.

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