Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

William Stanley Merwin’s poem “Debt” is a haunting meditation on the nature of loss, obligation, and the inescapable burden of emotional debts that cannot be repaid. Through evocative imagery and reflective tone, Merwin explores the complexities of unresolved feelings, the intangible debts we carry, and the enduring presence of those who have left us.

The poem opens with a simple, yet poignant line: “I come on the debt again this day in November.” The word "debt" here is immediately framed as something recurring, a burden that revisits the speaker repeatedly, particularly in the reflective, somber month of November. The season, with its cold rain and “yellow trees,” sets the scene for contemplation and remembrance. The imagery of rain and the fading colors of autumn evoke a sense of loss and the passage of time.

The line “The night kept raising white birds / The fowls of darkness entering winter” adds a surreal and symbolic dimension to the poem. White birds, often symbols of the soul or spirit, rising out of the darkness, suggest the souls of the departed moving into the winter, a metaphor for death. This reinforces the theme of the poem as the speaker grapples with the memory of someone who has passed away.

Despite the somber tone, the speaker acknowledges, “But I think of you seldom / You lost nothing you need entering death.” This admission suggests a complex relationship with the deceased, one that does not overwhelm the speaker’s daily thoughts but lingers in the background. The deceased “lost nothing” in death, implying a sense of peace or resolution for the one who has passed, in contrast to the unresolved feelings of the speaker.

The line “I tell you the basket has woven itself over you” implies that time and the natural process of forgetting have covered over the memory of the deceased, much like a basket encloses and protects something inside. The imagery of grief as “in pencil on a wall” suggests that the pain, while real, is faint and erasable, not deeply etched into the speaker’s consciousness.

The central question of the poem—“What did you take from me that I still owe you”—introduces the theme of an unresolved emotional debt. This question reveals the speaker’s struggle to understand what it is that keeps them tied to the memory of the deceased, what they continue to owe despite the passage of time. The repetition of “Each time it is / A blind man opening his eyes” suggests that each encounter with this debt brings a painful revelation or reminder, a moment of clarity that is both illuminating and distressing.

Merwin emphasizes that this debt is “a true debt it can never be paid,” underscoring the idea that some emotional obligations or feelings of guilt or loss are perpetual and inescapable. The speaker questions how the deceased has helped them—“Is it with speech you that combed out your voice till the ends bled”—and considers whether the debt is tied to speech, hearing, or any form of waking or awareness. The imagery of “combed out your voice till the ends bled” evokes a sense of pain and effort, perhaps indicating that the deceased had a strained or difficult relationship with communication, which has left a lasting impact on the speaker.

The poem concludes with the acknowledgment that the debt is personal and intangible: “It is a true debt it is mine alone / It is nameless / It rises from poverty.” This debt, unnamed and rooted in a sense of lack or insufficiency, is something that cannot be fully articulated or resolved. It extends from the speaker into the world, into the trees as night falls, suggesting that it is a part of the speaker’s existence, something that accompanies them as they move through life.

The final lines—“It follows a death like a candle / But the death is not yours”—suggest that the debt is tied to a death, but not directly to the speaker’s own mortality. Instead, it is connected to the memory of the deceased, a lingering presence that continues to cast its shadow over the speaker’s life.

“Debt” is a profound exploration of the emotional burdens we carry, the unresolved feelings that haunt us, and the complex relationships that continue to affect us even after death. Merwin’s use of evocative imagery and contemplative language invites readers to reflect on their own experiences of loss, memory, and the inescapable debts of the heart. Through this poem, Merwin captures the essence of an emotional debt that, despite its intangibility and the passage of time, remains a powerful and enduring force in the speaker’s life.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...