Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Icing at the Corners" by Clark Coolidge is a surreal and fragmented journey through a landscape that merges the familiar with the bizarre, creating a tapestry of images and references that defy easy interpretation. The poem, through its abstract language and eclectic mix of cultural references, explores themes of identity, transformation, and the surreal aspects of existence.

The opening line, "I came to the planet in the desert," immediately situates the reader in an otherworldly scenario, suggesting arrival or birth into an environment that is both barren and alien. The mention of "tubes underground" evokes a sense of hidden connections or pathways, perhaps symbolic of the unconscious or the unseen forces that shape our lives.

Coolidge's reference to "shock tubes Buster Crabbe in / all the dependable serials you ever see" brings pop culture into this surreal landscape, mixing the adventurous and serialized nature of early cinema with the scientific concept of shock tubes. This juxtaposition blurs the lines between entertainment and experimentation, reality and fiction.

The phrase "the locked Hitler of elevator fame" is jarringly incongruous, combining historical villainy with mundane modernity. This could reflect on the way historical figures and events are processed and simplified in popular consciousness, reduced to caricatures or catchphrases.

"An animal farm in my capital fun zone" seems to nod towards George Orwell's "Animal Farm," invoking themes of power, manipulation, and dystopia, all within the context of a "capital fun zone," suggesting a critique of consumerism and entertainment culture's ability to distract and divert from more serious issues.

Coolidge's line "think we can lap ourselves? Swanny!" plays with the idea of self-surpassing or self-encounter, wrapped in a colloquial exclamation that adds a layer of whimsy or disbelief. The desire to "part myself like hair" further explores the theme of self-division or exploration, seeking to understand or redefine oneself.

The imagery of "snow diamond chevrons on the pole wall" evokes a striking visual pattern, suggesting both beauty and harshness, a crystalline structure imposed upon a bleak landscape. This image, coupled with the notion that "soon someone will close all your closets," suggests a forthcoming change or revelation, the closing of closets implying a hiding away or securing of secrets.

"Glubglub came the sound of goulash breakup" continues the poem's playful engagement with sound and sense, turning the breakup of a stew into an onomatopoeic event, which, alongside the mention of being "out on the sound no grist few tears," implies a departure or dissolution, perhaps of relationships, expectations, or identities.

The final line, "I can't forget those burlap-covered signs," leaves the reader with a sense of unresolved memory or significance, the burlap-covered signs suggesting obscured messages or meanings, perhaps emblematic of the poem's overall engagement with the layers of interpretation and understanding that comprise human experience.

"Icing at the Corners" is a richly textured poem that invites multiple readings and interpretations, challenging the reader to navigate its surreal landscape in search of coherence, meaning, and the beauty that lies in the unexpected juxtapositions of life. Through his distinctive use of language, imagery, and cultural references, Coolidge crafts a work that is both bewildering and deeply engaging, reflecting the complexities and contradictions of the modern world.

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