Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Cleopatra Mathis's "Lesson: 12. Given What Manages" delves into the complexities of inheritance, survival, and self-discovery through the perspective of a woman navigating the turbulence of life. The poem captures the protagonist’s evolution as she contends with grief, responsibility, and the natural world’s relentless cycle of decay and regeneration. It is an introspective piece, rich with metaphors that connect human struggles to the rhythms of the environment, exploring the dualities of resilience and fragility.

The poem opens with a poignant dedication "for the daughter," immediately situating the narrative within the realm of familial legacy. The daughter is described as an "heiress to a fortune in grief," juxtaposing the weight of emotional inheritance with the concept of material wealth. This framing underscores the paradox of her "fortune," which includes both the paradise of life’s potential and the inevitable loss that accompanies it. The metaphor of the hurricane establishes her as both a survivor and a symbol of upheaval, marked by the shared "female name." This imagery reflects societal and personal expectations thrust upon women, as well as the resilience required to endure such pressures.

As the poem progresses, it charts the daughter’s journey from youthful idealism to the tempered realism of adulthood. By her thirties, she grapples with the inevitability of loss, mirrored in the cyclical shedding of leaves by winter trees. The language here, "leaf by leaf, the trees give up everything to survive," parallels her own sacrifices and adaptations to endure life's hardships. Her physical self—marked by "crow’s feet and the widening network of veins"—bears the visible traces of time and experience, while her internal self wrestles with hunger, guilt, and love.

Mathis masterfully captures the duality of motherhood in this section. The daughter is "destined to be of two minds," torn between her desires and her responsibilities. The conflicting emotions of regret and guilt intertwine with her tender connection to her child, as she takes in "the pure air of that little breath." This juxtaposition underscores the complexities of parenting, where mercy replaces romanticized notions of love. The phrase "keeper of the sponge, the bedtime and the bed" encapsulates the relentless, unglamorous duties of care that define her role.

The natural world becomes both a mirror and a sanctuary for the daughter’s internal struggles. Her journey into the woods, "to repeat the infinite names from all the books," signifies a quest for understanding and a connection to something larger than herself. This act of naming represents her attempt to impose order and meaning on the chaos of life. Her discovery of the rattlesnake’s burrow evokes a mixture of awe and protectiveness, as she shields the creature from human interference, revealing her empathy and identification with the wild.

The poem’s tone shifts as it moves toward late winter, a time of scarcity and endurance. The description of deer forced to eat "bad bark and pencil-thick stems" vividly illustrates the harshness of survival. Their suffering reflects the daughter’s own struggles, as she observes nature’s resilience in the face of adversity. Her connection to the natural world deepens her understanding of her own place within it, blurring the line between human and animal. The imagery of the deer lying down to endure hunger resonates with her own moments of exhaustion and surrender.

In the climactic scene, the daughter engages in a ritualistic act of gathering weeds and insects, bridging her connection to the natural world with her creative impulse. She reflects on survival with profound humility: "Given what manages to survive on this earth, who are we to think we could know trauma or triumph." This insight acknowledges the resilience of even the smallest creatures while humbling human perspectives on suffering and achievement.

The closing image of the daughter sketching insects after supper is both symbolic and literal. Her meticulous drawings represent an attempt to understand and preserve the fleeting details of life. The act of "drawing them as they have not been" suggests a reimagining of their existence, an effort to capture their essence beyond mere representation. This creative impulse becomes an act of transformation, paralleling her own journey of self-discovery and resilience.

Mathis’s use of vivid imagery, cyclical patterns, and meditative tone weaves a narrative that connects human emotions to the rhythms of nature. The poem’s structure, with its flowing enjambments and layered metaphors, mirrors the interconnectedness of the daughter’s experiences. "Lessons 12. Given What Manages" ultimately celebrates survival, not as triumph over adversity, but as a quiet, enduring process of adaptation and self-realization. Through the daughter’s journey, Mathis offers a poignant exploration of life’s fragility, its resilience, and the beauty found in embracing both.

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