Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Gary Snyder’s "Earrings Dangling and Miles of Desert" is a dense, layered meditation on Artemisia, commonly known as sagebrush, and its deep ecological, cultural, and mythological significance. The poem operates as both a botanical catalog and an invocation, blending scientific knowledge, Indigenous ethnobotany, historical references, and poetic reverence to render sagebrush not just as a plant but as an enduring presence across vast landscapes and human histories. Snyder, ever the poet of interconnected systems, treats Artemisia not as a mere object of study but as a living entity, deeply woven into the fabric of desert ecosystems and mythic traditions.

The structure of the poem oscillates between taxonomic precision and lyrical expansion. It opens with a distinction between sagebrush (Artemisia) and sage (Salvia), establishing the botanical framework that will guide much of the poem. Snyder names species, their classifications, and the plant communities they form, situating Artemisia as part of a greater ecological system. This factual tone gives way to a more sensory description: "—brushy, bushy, stringybark cobwebby tangle / multi-stemmed, forking, twiglets jut sidewise, / a scatter of silky tiny leaves, dry twigs stick up straight; / a lizard scooting in the frizzy dust—." The accumulation of adjectives mimics the tangled, wind-swept nature of sagebrush itself, while the sudden movement of the lizard injects a kinetic energy, reminding the reader that this is a dynamic, living environment.

Snyder then turns to sagebrush’s role in the food web, listing the animals that consume it, from pygmy rabbits and sage grouse to pronghorn antelope, whose digestive systems have evolved to process the plant’s otherwise indigestible oils. The description of elk eating it and belching a lot brings a touch of humor, emphasizing the rough, unglamorous reality of ecological adaptation. Birds nest in it; humans use it for firewood, medicine, and weaving. The plant is not an isolated object but an integral part of life, supporting creatures across scales of time and function. Indigenous knowledge is woven into this section, with references to the Hopi, Cahuilla, Paiute, and other Native peoples who have lived with Artemisia for millennia. Their languages, names, and medicinal uses affirm a continuity that stretches far beyond modern botany’s classifications.

This gradual shift from scientific description to cultural significance deepens as Snyder moves beyond North America, linking Artemisia to Europe and Asia. The plant, he reminds us, is not just local but global: “Artemisia is worldwide—thirty species in Japan alone.” It is the mugwort and moxa of China, essential to traditional medicine. In Europe, wormwood—another form of Artemisia—is the key ingredient in absinthe, a drink associated with artistic inspiration and madness. Snyder cites Rimbaud, whose vision of "sagebrush of the glaciers" ties the plant to poetic revelation. Here, Artemisia takes on a new meaning: it is not just practical, not just ecological, but mystical and intoxicating, a plant of altered perception and mythic significance.

The final section of the poem fully embraces this mythological dimension, linking Artemisia to Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, the moon, and wild places. "Wormwood is sacred to Artemis. / Narrow leaves glow silver in her moonlight— / ‘She loves to hunt in the shadows of mountains and in the wind’——.” The connection is not merely linguistic but deeply symbolic: Artemis, a goddess of the untamed, finds her counterpart in a plant that thrives in harsh, arid landscapes, at the edges of civilization. The etymological note—“Artem in Greek meant ‘to dangle’ or ‘earring.’ (Well-connected, ‘articulate,’ art. . . .)”—creates a playful resonance between language, mythology, and meaning. The very name of the plant hints at movement, ornament, and articulation, reinforcing its role as a mediator between worlds: between animal and human, between desert and mind, between science and poetry.

The poem closes with a sweeping, expansive image: "Her blue-gray-green stretching out there / sagebrush flats reach to the edge bend away— / emptiness far as the mind can see—.” Here, Artemisia merges with the landscape itself, becoming both a visual and a conceptual horizon. The sagebrush flats extend toward infinity, mirroring the boundless openness of the Great Basin desert. And then, in the final invocation: "Raincloud maidens come walking / lightning-streak silver, gray skirts sweeping and trailing— / Hail, Artemisia, aromatic in the rain, / I will think of you in my other poems." The raincloud maidens, echoing Indigenous personifications of weather, appear as divine figures, restoring the land in cycles of drought and renewal. The closing dedication—"I will think of you in my other poems."—affirms that Artemisia, like all of Snyder’s subjects, is not a mere object of study but a presence that will continue to shape his work, just as it has shaped landscapes, cultures, and histories for millennia.

"Earrings Dangling and Miles of Desert" is not simply a poem about a plant; it is a meditation on continuity—between species, between cultures, between past and present. Snyder moves seamlessly from botanical detail to ecological function, from Indigenous use to Greek mythology, from scientific classification to poetic etymology, constructing Artemisia as more than just a shrub in the desert. It is a force that connects worlds, enduring in its silver-green resilience, shaping the ecosystems and imaginations of those who live with it. Through this approach, Snyder dissolves the boundaries between poetry and ecology, revealing that to truly see a plant—to name it, to honor it—is to recognize the vast networks of meaning it carries.

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