Friday, April 15, 2011

Yesterday by W.S Merwin


Yesterday by W. S. Merwin

My friend says I was not a good son
you understand
I say yes I understand

he says I did not go
to see my parents very often you know
and I say yes I know

even when I was living in the same city he says
maybe I would go there once
a month or maybe even less
I say oh yes

he says the last time I went to see my father
I say the last time I saw my father

he says the last time I saw my father
he was asking me about my life
how I was making out and he
went into the next room
to get something to give me

oh I say
feeling again the cold
of my father's hand the last time

he says and my father turned
in the doorway and saw me
look at my wristwatch and he
said you know I would like you to stay
and talk with me

oh yes I say

but if you are busy he said
I don't want you to feel that you
have to
just because I'm here

I say nothing

he says my father
said maybe
you have important work you are doing
or maybe you should be seeing
somebody I don't want to keep you

I look out the window
my friend is older than I am
he says and I told my father it was so
and I got up and left him then
you know

though there was nowhere I had to go
and nothing I had to do

Analysis:
The poems end leaves the reader with feeling of sadness, even desperation.  The son’s detailing of his fathers relationship is anything but optimistic. However, what is most distressing about the poem, is not the decayed relationship between a father and son, but rather the disregard to which son approaches his father. The son is acknowledging his failure to keep in touch, but does nothing about it. He knows that he could do better, maybe by going more “there once a month or maybe even less” but chooses to disregard his obligations as a son, and instead goes “nowhere” and does “nothing”.
There’s a degree of relevancy in this poem to all of our lives. We struggle to keep in touch and to hold together the fabric of our relationships, but sometimes and by our own actions, the struggle is futile. The fact that the son acknowledges his own doings and yet chooses to watch his relationship decay makes it all the more worse.
Merwin employs a multitude of literary devices in this poem; in order to both heighten its purpose and to its readability. For example, the use of ANAPHORA and the repetition of the line “I say”. The reasoning for the ANAPHORA may be to develop a sense of conversation. Merwin also uses APOSTRAPHE, CAESURA, ENJAMBMENT, and ENVOI. All of these devices contribute to the poems flow and style. The APOSTRAPHE and ENVOIV create the sense that a person is speaking to reader, while CAESURA and ENJAMBMENT contribute to the poems style and flow.










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