Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

David Wagoner’s Doing Time is a compact yet profound meditation on the experience of introspection, self-containment, and the discipline of internalizing life’s complexities. The poem’s brevity mirrors the compressed intensity of its theme: the solitary work of processing one’s inner world while navigating external constraints.

The title, Doing Time, invokes the metaphor of imprisonment, suggesting that life itself can feel like a sentence—a structured duration of self-reflection, discipline, and quiet endurance. The phrase is often associated with incarceration, but Wagoner transforms it into a metaphor for the internal labor of self-awareness and emotional restraint. The interplay between the literal and metaphorical meanings establishes the tension that runs through the poem.

The opening lines—“Do your own time, say prisoners / To those who spill their lives to others.”—set the tone of self-reliance and personal accountability. The prisoners’ admonition to “do your own time” emphasizes the importance of individual responsibility and discretion. Here, Wagoner critiques the impulse to overshare or unburden oneself at the expense of others, suggesting that such actions dilute the integrity of personal experience. The line also underscores the isolation inherent in personal growth; no one else can truly bear the weight of another’s internal struggles.

The poet’s voice then shifts to self-reflection: “I serve my indeterminate years / Through these concurrent sentences.” The word “indeterminate” evokes both the uncertainty of life’s duration and the open-ended nature of personal growth. The phrase “concurrent sentences” cleverly plays on the dual meanings of “sentences”—both the linguistic building blocks of the poem and the metaphorical terms of one’s existence. Wagoner implies that the act of writing, or crafting meaning through language, becomes a form of self-imposed discipline, akin to serving time in a prison of one’s own making.

The central tension of the poem lies in the poet’s hope for redemption: “Out of a hope to get time off / For good behavior.” This introduces the concept of a moral or existential reward for navigating life’s challenges with integrity. The notion of “good behavior” ties the metaphor back to the penal system while also reflecting a broader aspiration for ethical living. Wagoner subtly questions whether such a reward is ever truly attainable or whether it is merely a self-imposed consolation.

The final lines crystallize the poem’s existential dilemma: “doing life / For willful failure to report / On what goes on and on in the heart.” The phrase “doing life” underscores the weight and permanence of the human condition, while the “willful failure to report” suggests a deliberate choice to withhold or internalize one’s innermost experiences. Wagoner presents this failure as an act of defiance against the expectation to articulate or confess; instead, it becomes an assertion of the sacredness of the private self. The repetition of “on and on” conveys the relentless, cyclical nature of emotional life, emphasizing its unending complexity.

Ultimately, Doing Time is a meditation on the interplay between expression and silence, freedom and containment. Wagoner suggests that the act of living—of enduring and making sense of one’s inner world—is both a burden and a discipline. The poem’s concise form mirrors its thematic focus, embodying the restraint it advocates. In its quiet profundity, Doing Time invites readers to consider their own relationship with introspection, self-expression, and the unspoken truths that shape their lives.

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