Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Woman", Robert Creeley presents an intense and introspective exploration of intimacy, memory, and the complex emotional and physical impact of a relationship. The poem is unflinching in its language and tone, capturing both the speaker’s fascination and ambivalence toward the subject—referred to as "you." Creeley’s language is raw and almost fragmented, reflecting a relationship defined by unresolved emotions, visceral physicality, and a sense of longing that is tinged with frustration. This complex portrayal of a woman reveals the speaker's struggle to reconcile his memories and sensations with an experience that seems at once haunting and isolating.

The poem begins with a sense of confession: “I have never clearly given to you the associations / you have for me.” This line sets up the speaker’s internal conflict, as he admits his inability to articulate or share the full impact this person has had on him. The use of “associations” implies that the woman exists for him as a collection of memories, feelings, and impressions rather than as a cohesive, fully understood individual. This fragmentation suggests an emotional distance or inability to fully grasp or communicate the complexity of his connection with her. The line also hints at a missed opportunity for honest communication, as if the speaker’s feelings have been left unexpressed or only partially understood.

Creeley describes the woman as having a “divided presence,” which further emphasizes this theme of fragmentation. This “divided presence” suggests that she is both physically real and emotionally elusive, as if the speaker can perceive her only in fragments or through sensations that are not fully coherent. The phrase “my dream does not show / you. I do not dream” suggests a kind of detachment or repression, as if the woman is absent from the speaker’s subconscious, yet her presence lingers in his waking thoughts and sensations. By stating, “I do not dream,” the speaker conveys a sense of numbness or an inability to process his emotions on a deeper, symbolic level. This absence of dreams could imply that his relationship with her is too raw, too immediate, to be transformed into something he can fully understand or integrate.

The next lines, “I have compounded these sensations, the accumulation of the things left me by you,” indicate that the speaker’s experience of the woman is built on sensory memories—accumulated fragments rather than a unified image. The word “compounded” implies that these sensations have built up over time, becoming a complex mixture of emotions that are difficult to separate or interpret. This “accumulation” of sensations hints at the weight of memory and physicality, suggesting that the relationship has left a lasting mark on the speaker, even as he struggles to make sense of it.

In a jarring shift, the speaker describes the woman’s “tits, not breasts, but harsh sudden rises of impatient flesh.” The choice of “tits” rather than “breasts” is intentional, as it conveys a sense of bluntness and almost aggressive physicality. This language emphasizes the raw, unfiltered nature of his attraction to her, as well as a certain roughness in their intimacy. The description of her body as “harsh sudden rises of impatient flesh” suggests both desire and impatience, as if their physical connection is charged with urgency but lacks tenderness. This portrayal of her body as “impatient” hints at a relationship defined by fleeting encounters rather than enduring affection, an interaction that is primarily physical and perhaps unsatisfying in its brevity.

The speaker continues, “You walk such a shortness of intent strides, your height is so low,” which paints a vivid image of the woman’s physical presence as small but purposeful. Her “shortness of intent strides” implies a determined, almost mechanical quality to her movements, suggesting that she is emotionally guarded or distanced. The speaker’s observation of her “height” and the weight of her “hand” in his suggests both intimacy and detachment, as if he is deeply familiar with her physical presence yet remains distanced from her inner self. His physical awareness of her reinforces the sense that he knows her primarily through bodily sensation rather than emotional connection.

As the poem progresses, Creeley describes an act of coupling that defies physical reality: “We couple but lie against / no surface, have lifted as you again grow small against myself, into the air.” This image of coupling “against no surface” suggests a sense of detachment or suspension, as if their intimacy exists in an intangible realm. The imagery of “lifted” and “into the air” gives their interaction an almost dreamlike, weightless quality, yet it also emphasizes the lack of grounding or solidity in their connection. The woman “again grows small” against the speaker, highlighting her elusive nature and the transitory quality of their encounters.

The poem introduces the elements of air and silence as defining characteristics of the woman: “The air the third of the signs you are known by: a / quiet, a soughing silence, the winds lightly moved.” This portrayal of the woman as associated with air and silence reinforces her ethereal, intangible nature. She exists as a presence that is felt rather than fully seen or understood, her “soughing silence” suggesting an unspoken or inaccessible part of herself that the speaker can sense but not grasp. This use of air and silence highlights the emotional distance between them, as if she remains beyond his reach even in their moments of physical closeness.

The poem reaches a climactic moment as the speaker describes “your mouth, it opens not speaking, touches, / wet, on me.” This moment of physical intimacy is intense yet wordless, as if the emotional content of their interaction is beyond articulation. The mouth that “opens not speaking” symbolizes a communication that is purely physical, suggesting both intimacy and an inability to express deeper emotions. The touch is “wet,” raw and sensual, yet it leaves the speaker in a state of emotional turmoil, culminating in a scream or song: “Then I scream, I sing such as is given to me, roaring unheard like stark sight sees itself inverted / into dark turned.”

In this line, Creeley conveys a sense of catharsis and despair, as the speaker’s scream is both powerful and “unheard.” The imagery of “stark sight sees itself inverted / into dark turned” suggests a moment of self-awareness or introspection, a confrontation with the intensity of his own emotions. This “roaring unheard” is an expression of frustration, perhaps with the limitations of their relationship or his inability to fully connect with or understand her. The final line, “Onanistic, / I feel around myself what you have left me with, wetness, pools of it, my skin drips,” suggests a solitary, almost painful aftermath. The term “Onanistic” (alluding to self-pleasure or self-reliance) implies a sense of isolation, as if the speaker is left alone with the remnants of their intimacy.

In "Woman", Robert Creeley presents an unfiltered and complex portrayal of intimacy, longing, and emotional isolation. Through visceral language and fragmented imagery, Creeley captures the speaker’s struggle to understand and connect with a woman who remains enigmatic and elusive. The poem reveals a relationship that is intensely physical yet lacks emotional grounding, leaving the speaker with sensations and memories that are powerful but ultimately unfulfilling. "Woman" is a meditation on the intersection of desire and disconnection, a raw exploration of how intimacy can amplify both connection and alienation, leaving a lasting impact that is both tangible and hauntingly incomplete.

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