Last night the Creeley poem I Know a Man visited me like a dream. Especially, or at first, the lines ... the darkness sur- rounds us, what can we do against it... I thought Yes, thats how I am, a lot of us are, feeling right now;engulfed by this overwhelming darkness. And uncertain what the hell we are supposed to do, what are our capabilities even more than our responsibilities? or else, shall we & why not, buy a goddamn big car, So last night Im thinking, is he saying... Screw it? The hell with it? Is the car protection? Flight? Escape? Back in 1954, when the poem was written, a big car, yes, was a symbol of power, but it was also something you could use to get the hell out of there. A symbol of both the wealthy man and the criminal. Was he telling me I should close my eyes and tour like a vacationer? Flee like a wanted man? Blunder straight into it, attempt to crash through the barricades? Protect myself? (I know critics have other interpretations, but this is where I was) And his friend, John, (which was not his real name), John(after the Biblical wildman eating locusts and crying out warnings in the desert? Hard not to see that as a reference when John and then Jesus both are referenced) answered drive, he sd, for christ’s sake, look out where yr going. A warning to what? Pay attention to where you are, what youre doing, the potential destruction in taking action without being aware of the road youre on? I Know a Man... As I sd to my friend, because I am always talking, – John, I sd, which was not his name, the darkness sur- rounds us, what can we do against it, or else, shall we & why not, buy a goddamn big car, drive, he sd, for christ’s sake, look out where yr going. And then this stuttering reading,like a man falling apart as he spoke.. poetryfoundation.org/poem/171564
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 12:35:32 +0000
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