Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Gail Mazur's “I Wish I Want I Need” is a layered exploration of desire, resignation, and the complex interplay of personal and familial relationships. By weaving together moments from daily life, reflections on a mother’s resilience, and cultural touchstones like The Way We Were, Mazur crafts a deeply introspective narrative about the tension between wanting and accepting, striving and surrendering.

The poem opens with a quiet, domestic scene: a black kitten crying at its bowl and a gray one watching from the windowsill. This image of contrasting personalities introduces the central theme of longing, whether for sustenance, attention, or connection. The speaker’s hand on the can of food signifies the act of provision, a gesture of care and response to need, which becomes a recurring motif throughout the poem.

From this gentle beginning, the poem moves to a memory of the speaker driving her mother through a snowstorm on her eightieth birthday. The juxtaposition of the mundane and the monumental—the errands, gossip, and antique shopping set against the milestone of her mother’s survival—creates a poignant tension. The mother’s grievances and triumphs, stretching back decades, are emblematic of her resilience and the burden of old wounds. Her reaction to a card from “my Nemesis,” signed “Sincerely with love,” encapsulates this dynamic: the persistence of grudges even as time softens their edges. The speaker’s attempt to mediate—“Maybe she loves you”—reveals her nuanced understanding of relationships, where hatred and love may intertwine over the course of a lifetime.

The poem shifts to the speaker’s reflection on her own desires. The purchase of an ice bucket, identical to one she already owns, becomes a symbol of the paradoxical nature of want: “Sometimes I think the only thing I’m sure I want is what I have.” This realization anchors the speaker in a recognition of her own contentment, however fleeting, and contrasts with her curiosity about others’ wishes. Her friend’s “deliciously simple” list of hedonistic pleasures provides a sharp contrast to the speaker’s more complex and unresolved desires, which unfold as the poem progresses.

Mazur’s inclusion of The Way We Were introduces a cultural lens through which the speaker examines the nature of wanting and incompatibility. The characters of Katie (Streisand) and Hubbell (Redford) embody opposing values and temperaments, their doomed romance a metaphor for irreconcilable differences. The speaker’s tears during the film—“for the wanting in it, and the losing”—mirror her own sense of yearning and futility. The cinematic relationship serves as a lens for examining her own relationships and the broader human condition: the painful realization that love, no matter how fervent, cannot always bridge fundamental divides.

The speaker’s reflection on the film reveals a deep identification with Katie, the passionate activist who refuses to compromise her principles, even at the expense of her relationship. Yet there’s also an acknowledgment of Katie’s yearning for Hubbell, a “piercing, more selfish” desire that lingers despite their incompatibility. This duality—standing firm in one’s beliefs while longing for connection—resonates with the speaker’s own inner conflict. The film becomes a mirror for her understanding of the complexities of love, individuality, and compromise.

The poem’s final movement returns to the personal and familial, as the speaker recalls a childhood lesson from her mother: “The meek inherit the earth.” This biblical phrase, delivered in a moment of consolation or instruction, becomes a touchstone for the speaker’s struggle with resignation. The memory underscores the tension between the ideals of patience and submission versus the relentless human urge to want, to strive, and to resist. The speaker’s tenderness toward her mother, described as a “little kitten,” ties the opening and closing of the poem together, framing the act of care and provision as both an expression of love and a metaphor for the ongoing challenge of navigating desire and limitation.

Mazur’s language throughout “I Wish I Want I Need” is both precise and evocative, blending vivid imagery with philosophical introspection. The interplay of domestic scenes, familial dynamics, and cultural commentary creates a richly textured narrative that invites the reader to reflect on their own desires and contradictions. The title itself—structured as a list of verbs—captures the poem’s central preoccupation with the ways in which wanting, wishing, and needing shape our lives, often in unpredictable and paradoxical ways.

Ultimately, “I Wish I Want I Need” is a meditation on the complexities of human desire, the inevitability of compromise, and the ways in which we navigate the gap between what we long for and what we have. Through its intricate layering of personal memory, cultural reflection, and emotional insight, the poem leaves the reader with a profound sense of the beauty and difficulty of being alive, striving, and connected.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...