Reading The Wild Iris was an interesting experience because of the choices Gluck made in her writing. From the title it was clear that nature would be a predominate theme throughout, however after reading the first section it became even more evident that nature was in everything she wrote. The garden setting becomes a home for her readers as they are introduced to the unspoken thoughts of the inhabitants, each plant becomes personified and gives us a glimpse at their lives. “Snowdrops” on page 6 shows the desperate state in which these flowers find themselves in during the winter, “I did not expect to survive,/earth suppressing me. I didn’t expect/ to waken again, to feel/ in damp earth my body/ able to respond again, remembering.” These very real human feelings and thoughts are also used in all of Gluck’s poems and are what make the impossible conversations understandable and relatable. Superficially, the garden poems are a discussion between the plants and the gardener but going below the surface, they are about relationships of all kinds.
One of the most common relationships Gluck writes about is that between a higher power (presumably God), and humans. A number of her poems are titled “Matins” and “Vespers” which are times of prayer in Catholicism. In these poems, Gluck again has impossible conversations, this time between God and humans. “I am not to speak to you/ in the personal way. Much/ has passed between us. Or/ was it always only/ on the one side?” This poem “Matins” (13) is the perfect example of the uneasy relationship between humans and God that is shown throughout the book. Gluck’s readers come to expect the back and forth that she has created by titling the piece as a time of prayer but posing a question that would nullify the need for prayer. Her uncertainty about religion and God can be interpreted in most of her poems. She shares her doubts and frustrations about God, but gives the impression that she believed in him at one point, and is now trying to wrap her head around it all. “Vespers” on page 36 says it quite bluntly “Once I believed in you/…It was a test: if the tree lived/ I would mean you existed.” Her frustrations are not the only ones voiced however, poems sometimes take the voice of God, sharing what she believes he must be thinking such as in the poem “September Twilight.” In the lines “I’m tired of you, chaos/ of the living world-/ I can only extend myself/ for so long to a living thing.” here God’s irritation with the limits of humans, along with their flaws becomes the center idea, and it is used several other times in her work.
The voices Gluck creates are what make the book, because they are relatable to her readers. These voices say the things we have thought, and describe the emotions that we have felt. The idea of having impossible conversations combined with relatable subjects makes the book more interesting because it adds dimension, allowing a reader to take it for face value or go deeper if they desire. Gluck has a presence in each of the poems just as Merwin did, by giving us direct access to thoughts and inner conflicts. However, her life was not an open book like Merwin, she gave us access to her emotions and thoughts in a specific moment without any back-story, and this too made a difference in the book as a whole.
I definitely agree that Gluck has an odd way of relating to plants and nature in her writing. Often times I knew it was the plant who was talking yet I felt like it could have been another human like in “The White Lilies.” I feels like Gluck is suggesting a man/woman love relationship but come to find out it is really between a plant and a human. She definitely does make these relationships cross over many different types of relationships at least figuratively.
ReplyDeleteI also find the way she writes to God and as His voice very enlightening. Not many people can or do try to comprehend God’s view of the world and our actions. Also the way she voices her doubts, and opinions is very refreshing. It seems so often at least in older poetry that there is such a sense of reverence which is great don’t get me wrong but the sense of TRUTH of feelings and emotions is lacking, not with Gluck! “Vespers” on pg 37, really gives the reader a sense of what Gluck feels. She is thankful yet confused & unaware of why God does what he does so she questions Him.
I think that because she gave us full disclosure of her feelings, good and bad. It gave a full picture or idea without causing the reader to be very confused with interpretation. It all seemed pretty clearly laid out despite all the different voices and directions the poems went.