Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Robert Creeley’s "Here and Now" is a visceral exploration of the precariousness of existence, where everyday reality and its underlying fragility are brought into sharp relief. In typical Creeley fashion, the poem blends minimalism with raw emotion, capturing a moment of disorientation and existential reckoning. The speaker contemplates the instability of the tangible world, where even the most familiar structures—social norms, sensory perceptions, and physical experiences—are subject to sudden, inexplicable disruptions. Through its fragmented language and biting humor, the poem speaks to the vulnerability of the human condition and the absurdity of trying to make sense of a world that is constantly shifting beneath our feet.

The poem opens with the line "Never other than this unless," which sets the tone for what follows. "This" refers to the immediate experience or reality of the present moment, suggesting that life is typically steady and familiar, "never other" than what it is. However, the word "unless" signals that this steady state is conditional, subject to sudden and unexpected changes. There is an underlying tension in this opening, as if the speaker is bracing for the possibility of disruption. The phrase implies that while things may seem stable, they are always on the verge of becoming something else, of being thrown into uncertainty.

The following lines, "is counted sudden, demanded / sense of falling or a loud, / inexplicable yell just back / of ears," describe the kinds of disruptions that can shatter the calm of the present moment. The "sudden, demanded / sense of falling" suggests a loss of control, as if the speaker is being pulled into a state of disorientation or anxiety. The "loud, / inexplicable yell" behind the ears further emphasizes this sense of alarm, evoking a physical and auditory intrusion into the speaker’s experience of reality. These lines capture the feeling of being overwhelmed by forces that are beyond comprehension or explanation, forces that break through the thin veneer of normalcy.

The poem then shifts to a description of how the "tangible / seeming world rears up distorted, / bites hands that would / feed it." This metaphor of the world "rearing up" like an animal, turning against those who try to sustain it, introduces a sense of betrayal or hostility. The tangible world, which is typically perceived as stable and reliable, suddenly becomes distorted and aggressive. The image of the world biting "hands that would / feed it" suggests that the speaker’s attempts to engage with or nurture reality are met with resistance or harm. This inversion of the natural order—where the world turns against those who care for it—underscores the unpredictability and volatility of existence.

The line "can feel no agreeable / sensation" introduces a shift in tone, as the speaker reflects on the lack of comfort or pleasure in this distorted reality. The world, once familiar and manageable, now offers no agreeable sensations, leaving the speaker in a state of alienation and discomfort. This sense of disconnection is reinforced by the phrase "in the subject’s hardly / learned vocabulary of social / moves, agreements, mores." Here, Creeley critiques the artificiality and inadequacy of social conventions—the "vocabulary" of how people are supposed to behave and interact. The speaker’s experience of reality has outstripped the ability of social norms to provide guidance or comfort. The use of "hardly learned" suggests that these social rules are not fully internalized or understood, further contributing to the speaker’s sense of disorientation.

The poem culminates in the final, blunt line: "then up shit creek sans paddle." This expression, with its colloquial tone and dark humor, encapsulates the speaker’s predicament. The phrase "up shit creek" refers to a situation that is hopeless or beyond repair, while "sans paddle" emphasizes the speaker’s lack of control or agency in navigating this crisis. By ending the poem with this phrase, Creeley injects a note of fatalism and resignation into the speaker’s reflections. The speaker has been thrown into a chaotic, uncontrollable world, and there is little they can do to change their circumstances. The humor in the phrase also serves to underscore the absurdity of the situation—there is something inherently ridiculous about the idea of being caught in such a dire predicament, with no means of escape.

Structurally, "Here and Now" follows Creeley’s characteristic style of short, fragmented lines that reflect the speaker’s fractured state of mind. The lack of punctuation and the enjambment between lines create a sense of continuous, unsettled movement, mirroring the speaker’s experience of reality as something that is constantly shifting and breaking apart. The poem’s minimalism forces the reader to focus on the individual words and phrases, each of which contributes to the overall sense of disorientation and instability.

Through its vivid imagery and sharp language, "Here and Now" captures the tension between the familiar and the unknown, the stable and the chaotic. The poem reflects on how easily the seemingly solid structures of reality—our perceptions, our social conventions—can be disrupted by sudden, inexplicable forces. Creeley’s use of dark humor and colloquial language adds a layer of irony to the speaker’s predicament, as if to suggest that despite the gravity of the situation, there is something absurd about trying to make sense of a world that refuses to be understood. In this way, the poem speaks to the existential dilemma of living in a world that is both tangible and elusive, comforting and hostile, where moments of clarity and order are always threatened by the unexpected.

In conclusion, "Here and Now" is a meditation on the fragility of reality and the disorienting nature of human experience. Through its minimalist language and sharp imagery, Robert Creeley explores the tension between the present moment and the chaotic forces that threaten to upend it. The poem’s focus on sudden disruptions, distorted perceptions, and the inadequacy of social norms captures the speaker’s struggle to navigate a world that is both familiar and incomprehensible. Ultimately, the poem suggests that life is a precarious balance between stability and uncertainty, where even the most seemingly solid foundations can give way at any moment.

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