Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Looking Away from Death," by Alan Seaburg, is a poignant meditation on grief, memory, and the gradual, uneven process of healing. The poem’s reflective tone, rooted in the physical and emotional textures of loss, creates an intimate portrayal of mourning as both a personal and universal experience. Through its understated yet evocative imagery, the poem conveys a journey of coming to terms with death and finding renewal in the enduring presence of care and connection.

The poem opens with a strikingly tender moment: "The two or three hours you were quiet in coma, / I kept rubbing my fingers on your arm, / for that at least was a familiar between us." This line immediately establishes the intimacy and physicality of grief. The speaker’s act of rubbing their fingers on the arm of the dying person becomes a gesture of connection, a way to hold on to a shared past even as the present slips away. The phrase "a familiar between us" underscores the deep bond that remains, even in the face of impending separation.

From this intimate beginning, the poem shifts into a metaphorical exploration of the speaker’s grief: "So began my sitting in a wicker chair, / on some sandy spit, and looking around death." The image of the sandy spit, a narrow and precarious place between land and sea, evokes the liminal space the speaker inhabits—caught between life and death, memory and reality. The act of "looking around death" suggests a cautious engagement with loss, an attempt to understand and navigate its vast, mysterious boundaries.

Seaburg’s depiction of death’s "wings" and its "wash and foam" further reinforces the fluidity and omnipresence of grief. These natural, elemental images convey a sense of inevitability and relentlessness, as if grief, like the tide, cannot be held back. The metaphor of death as something that "burned through the reasons / I used to protect my grief" is particularly striking, suggesting that the speaker’s former defenses against sorrow have been stripped away. Grief is no longer something to be rationalized or contained but rather something to be experienced fully, even if its edges are sharp and painful.

The speaker’s admission, "It has been my coma," reveals the profound effect of loss on their life. Grief, like a coma, is an altered state of being, one in which time and the external world seem distant or irrelevant. Yet, in the same breath, the speaker acknowledges that this state has been softened: "its barbed edges smoothed by my gropings." This line captures the slow, unsteady process of coming to terms with loss, where the sharpness of pain gradually gives way to moments of understanding or acceptance.

The passage of time is subtly conveyed throughout the poem, particularly in the line, "I have been sitting here for more than two years, / and still cannot find the sun glasses we lived by." The sunglasses, a symbol of clarity or protection from harsh realities, remain lost, reflecting the speaker’s ongoing struggle to adjust to life without their loved one. However, the mention of "dry paint" that "feels wet again" introduces a note of renewal. It suggests that the vividness of memory and emotion can return, even in the midst of sorrow.

In the closing lines, the poem shifts toward a more hopeful and outward-looking perspective: "I am eating, drinking, and trying / more responsibility to caring, / and to those whose arms caring rubs." These lines mark a significant turning point. The speaker, though still immersed in grief, is beginning to reengage with life and others. The act of "caring" becomes a way to honor the lost loved one, a means of continuing their legacy of connection and compassion.

"Looking Away from Death" is a masterful exploration of mourning’s complexities. Seaburg’s use of tactile and natural imagery, coupled with his understated yet profound reflections, captures the paradox of grief: its ability to isolate and transform, to both wound and heal. The poem ultimately suggests that while death may create a void, the act of caring—for oneself, for others—offers a path forward, a way to keep love alive in the face of loss.

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