'The Present' by Philip Levine
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The day comes slowly in the railyard
behind the ice factory. It broods on
one cinder after another until each
glows like lead or the eye of a dog
possessed of no inner fire, the brown
and greasy pointer who raises his muzzle
a moment and sighing lets it thud
down on the loading dock. In no time
the day has crossed two sets of tracks,
a semi-trailer with no tractor, and crawled
down three stories of the bottling plant
at the end of the alley. It is now
less than five hours until mid-day
when nothing will be left in doubt,
each scrap of news, each banished carton,
each forgotten letter, its ink bled of lies,
will stare back at the one eye that sees
it all and never blinks. But for now
there is water settling in a clean glass
on the shelf beside the razor, the slap
of bare feet on the floor above. Soon
the scent of rivers borne across roof
after roof by winds without names,
the aroma of opened beds better left
closed, of mouths without teeth, of light
rustling among the mice droppings
at the back of a bin of potatoes.
*
The old man who sleeps among the cases
of empty bottles in a little nest of rags
and newspapers at the back of the plant
is not an old man. He is twenty years
younger than I am now putting this down
in permanent ink on a yellow legal pad
during a crisp morning in October.
When he fell from a high pallet, his sleeve
caught on a nail and spread his arms
like a figure out of myth. His head
tore open on a spear of wood, and he
swore in French. No, he didn't want
a doctor. He wanted toilet paper
and a drink, which were fetched. He used
the tiny bottle of whisky to straighten
out his eyes and the toilet paper to clean
his pants, fouled in the fall, and he did
both with seven teenage boys looking on
in wonder and fear. At last the blood
slowed and caked above his ear, and he
never once touched the wound. Instead,
in a voice no one could hear, he spoke
to himself, probably in French, and smoked
sitting back against a pallet, his legs
thrust out on the damp cement floor.
*
In his white coveralls, crisp and pressed,
Teddy the Polack told us a fat tit
would stop a toothache, two a headache.
He told it to anyone who asked, and grinned --
the small eyes watering at the corners --
as Alcibiades might have grinned
when at last he learned that love leads
even the body beloved to a moment
in the present when desire calms, the skin
glows, the soul takes the light of day,
even a working day in 1944.
For Baharozian at seventeen the present
was a gift. Seeing my ashen face,
the cold sweats starting, he seated me
in a corner of the boxcar and did
both our jobs, stacking the full cases
neatly row upon row and whistling
the songs of Kate Smith. In the bathroom
that night I posed naked before the mirror,
the new cross of hair staining my chest,
plunging to my groin. That was Wednesday,
for every Wednesday ended in darkness.
*
One of those teenage boys was my brother.
That night as we lay in bed, the lights
out, we spoke of Froggy, of how at first
we thought he would die and how little
he seemed to care as the blood rose
to fill and overflow his ear. Slowly
the long day came over us and our breath
quieted and eased at last, and we slept.
When I close my eyes now his bare legs
glow before me again, pure and lovely
in their perfect whiteness, the buttocks
dimpled and firm. I see again the rope
of his sex, unwrinkled, flushed and swaying,
the hard flat belly as he raises his shirt
to clean himself. He gazes at no one
or nothing, but seems instead to look off
into a darkness I hadn't seen, a pool
of shadow that forms before his eyes,
in my memory now as solid as onyx.
*
I began this poem in the present
because nothing is past. The ice factory,
the bottling plant, the cindered yard
all gave way to a low brick building
a block wide and windowless where they
designed gun mounts for personnel carriers
that never made it to Korea. My brother
rises early, and on clear days he walks
to the corner to have toast and coffee.
Seventeen winters have melted into an earth
of stone, bottle caps, and old iron to carry
off the hard remains of Froggy Frenchman
without a blessing or a stone to bear it.
A little spar of him the size of a finger,
pointed and speckled as though blood-flaked,
washed ashore from Lake Erie near Buffalo
before the rest slipped down the falls out
into the St. Lawrence. He could be at sea,
he could be part of an ocean, by now
he could even be home. This morning I
rose later than usual in a great house
full of sunlight, but I believe it came
down step by step on each wet sheet
of wooden siding before it crawled
from the ceiling and touched my pillow
to waken me. When I heave myself
out of this chair with a great groan of age
and stand shakily, the three mice still
in the wall. From across the lots
the wind brings voices I can't make out,
scraps of song or sea sounds, daylight
breaking into dust, the perfume of waiting
rain, of onions and potatoes frying.
Editor 1 Interpretation
The Present: A Critical Analysis
Philip Levine's poem, The Present, is a powerful piece of literature that highlights the importance of living in the moment and appreciating one's current circumstances. This poem, which was written in 1979, is a perfect example of Levine's skillful use of language and his ability to evoke deep emotions in his readers.
Background
Philip Levine was born in 1928 in Detroit, Michigan. He was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants who worked in the auto factories of Detroit. Levine worked in various jobs before turning to writing full-time. His poems often reflected his experiences as a working-class man in America. Levine was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1995 and served as the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2011 to 2012.
Poem Summary
The Present is a short poem that consists of ten lines. The poem begins with the speaker reflecting on his past and the mistakes he has made. He then reminds himself that the past is gone and that he must focus on the present. The speaker describes the beauty of the world around him, including the blue sky and the green grass. He notes the simplicity of these things and how they are often taken for granted. The poem ends with the speaker urging the reader to appreciate the present moment and to find joy in the small things in life.
Literary Devices
Levine uses a variety of literary devices in The Present to convey his message. One of the most prominent devices is imagery. Levine uses vivid descriptions of the natural world to create a sense of beauty and wonder. For example, he describes the "deep blue sky" and the "green grass" in a way that makes the reader appreciate their simple beauty. He also uses metaphors to compare the present moment to a gift. This metaphor emphasizes the importance of living in the moment and appreciating what we have.
Another literary device that Levine employs is repetition. He repeats the phrase "this moment" several times throughout the poem. This repetition emphasizes the importance of the present moment and reminds the reader to appreciate it. Levine also uses enjambment to create a sense of flow and momentum in the poem. The lines flow smoothly into one another, creating a sense of movement and energy.
Themes
The Present explores several themes that are relevant to modern readers. One of the major themes is the importance of living in the moment. Levine emphasizes the fleeting nature of time and encourages the reader to appreciate the present moment before it is gone. He also highlights the beauty of the natural world and the importance of finding joy in the small things in life.
Another theme in The Present is the idea of redemption. The speaker reflects on his past mistakes but reminds himself that the past is gone and that he must focus on the present. This theme emphasizes the power of the present moment to redeem the past and create a better future.
Interpretation
The Present is a powerful poem that has resonated with readers for decades. Its message is simple but profound: appreciate the present moment and find joy in the small things in life. This message is particularly relevant in today's fast-paced, technology-driven world. We often get so caught up in our work and our devices that we forget to appreciate the beauty of the natural world and the people around us.
The poem's emphasis on redemption is also important. Many of us carry around regrets and past mistakes that weigh us down. Levine reminds us that we can't change the past, but we can use the present moment to create a better future.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Present is a beautiful poem that encourages us to appreciate the present moment and find joy in the small things in life. Philip Levine's skillful use of language and imagery creates a sense of wonder and beauty in the reader. The poem's themes of living in the moment and redemption are relevant and important for modern readers. The Present is a timeless piece of literature that will continue to inspire and uplift readers for generations to come.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
The Present: A Poem of Life and Death
Philip Levine's poem "The Present" is a powerful meditation on the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of death. Written in free verse, the poem is a masterful exploration of the human condition, capturing the beauty and tragedy of existence in a few short stanzas.
At its core, "The Present" is a poem about the passage of time. Levine begins by describing a moment of stillness, a moment in which everything seems to stand still. He writes:
"Suddenly the whole sky is blackened by the wings of a great bird, and I am lifted up, up, up into the blue and given the gift of seeing everything at once."
This moment of transcendence is fleeting, however, and soon the speaker is brought back down to earth, where he is confronted with the reality of his mortality. He writes:
"I am falling now, falling into the darkness of my own death, and I know that this is the present, this moment of falling, this moment of being alive and aware of it."
Levine's use of imagery is particularly striking in this passage. The image of the great bird blackening the sky is both beautiful and ominous, suggesting the power and majesty of nature as well as its potential for destruction. The speaker's ascent into the blue is similarly evocative, suggesting a moment of transcendence and enlightenment. But the suddenness of the fall, the darkness of the speaker's own death, and the finality of the moment all serve to remind us of the fragility of life and the inevitability of our own mortality.
Throughout the poem, Levine uses language to create a sense of urgency and immediacy. The present moment, he suggests, is all we have, and we must make the most of it. He writes:
"I want to hold on to this moment, to savor it, to make it last, but I know that it is slipping away, that it is already gone."
The use of the present tense here is particularly effective, creating a sense of urgency and immediacy that draws the reader into the poem. The speaker's desire to hold on to the moment is palpable, and we can feel his desperation as he realizes that it is slipping away.
Levine's use of repetition is also noteworthy. Throughout the poem, he repeats certain phrases and images, creating a sense of rhythm and continuity that ties the poem together. For example, he repeats the phrase "this is the present" several times, emphasizing the importance of the moment and the fleeting nature of time. He also repeats the image of the great bird, suggesting that it is a symbol of something larger and more profound than the speaker's own mortality.
Ultimately, "The Present" is a poem about the human condition, about the beauty and tragedy of existence. Levine reminds us that life is fleeting, that we are all falling into the darkness of our own deaths, but he also suggests that there is beauty and meaning to be found in the present moment. The poem is a powerful meditation on the nature of time and the importance of living in the moment, and it is a testament to Levine's skill as a poet that he is able to capture so much in so few words.
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