Imitating Andrew Marvell

Imitating Andrew Marvell

Where the land of logic is formidable

Far extensive than the oceans above are applicable

Expansive, wide and large so I see

That is where I want to be thus I sing

 

If not for the pay, I receive,

Or for the joy wish I perceive

Or for the food too little to remain crumbs

That there is no existence of taste for crabs

Then let be for the unpaid bills on my table

Or that now there is no life in my cable

And yet in my wake in the morning

I smell of money on trees and they are booming

I say to myself today I make millions

Still hoping in mind that it will be trillions

At sunset, I count the coins he puts on my palm

Who cut the trees that brought the calm?

Stare at the secretary at the doorway

How will I find my way?

If I cannot feed my own, how can I take another?

Forgive, the joys I forfeit for another

Not for the cars that leave dust behind as they trod in speed

Yet for the damage they cause on the wake of it speed

I am learned, I went to school

That is what I said at the pool

I dust the fears in my eyes, hoping to see through the fog

I want to find food to sooth the soul am not a hog

Look at the goats chasing on the bush

When I know I need a push

They are luckier

They are happier

I roll back to my corner of imagination

The world has messed its creation

I am the son of the soil

Yet find my soul is in soil

In its depth, I find comfort I find peace

It is a world wish I never seize

I imagine living a life real only to that world

In that world I am respected I drive a car and have a world

 

It is the tears of my world; it is the fears of my life

I truly need to have a facelift or a wipe

Get to enjoy this comfort in their bright more natural form

Not to fold my nose at the waste in its form

 

 

The theme discussed in the poem is an echo of the threats of the environmental degradation experienced in the world. The poem analysis the effects of the damage to environment from an individual point of view, it also analyses the lasting implication it will have on the earth. The writer also shows effects of the small habits that we practice that accelerate the environmental waste. The persona in the poem is in a mood of despair because at the wake of the environmental degradation he cannot find work and does not have enough food to eat. As indicated by the “food too little to remain crumbs”.

The satirical approach to the “goats chasing in the bush” is supposed to portray our lack of responsibility towards them. As human beings we have been bestowed with the responsibility to take care of the things around including the animal’s that don’t any better .The poem considers them to be “happier” and “luckier”. Yet in the real sense they are not safer either because if flora is affected so is fauna. In the last stanza, the persona wishes to have a face-lift to see if the problem is with him. Clearly, the persona is denial because he still hopes to enjoy the nature in its natural form. This can only be an imagination knowing the damage already done.

This stanza is meant to sweep the world into action. It supposed to challenge us into action, to stop living in denial and take on the challenge. Notice that the persona is complaining about the damage and the effects it has on him yet he is not willing to take responsibility. The problem we have right now is that we have too many faultfinding people but are not keen to embrace the solutions based approach to solve the problem at hand.

The challenge the poem poses on us is to realize that the environmental damage is a cycle that has an impact for a lifetime because if some industry will fall because of global warming causing unemployment. Learned people will not find work. The world will be a shadow of itself; the individuals in it will live in a pigment of their imagination. The opening stanza talks of the persona wanting to be a part of another world. The persona in the poem acknowledges that the “world has messed it own creation”. He also seems to want to have a partner but considers that as extra responsibility. He even questions if he cannot be able to feed his own how he can take another. This shows the problem will be aggravated by lack of continuity.

The poem is inspired by Marvell style of writing. It incorporates the use of rhyming scheme in couplets. It has greatly embraced the tone of spiritual inclination. The persona is reasoning with his soul. He acknowledges that he is afraid to face tomorrow and what it holds. Marvell is a writer known for his respect for nature and his figurative approach in intertwining the themes of the spiritual self and the environment around him. The poem has imitated his style in that the persona acclaims his empty life. “No life in cable”. Shows there is no future to look for him to hope (Marvell & Smith, 2007).

Marvell did not shy away from expressing his deep and rich spiritual affair. His poems are a reflection of this affair clear form his constant dialogue with his soul. The poem has also mimicked the dialogue with the inner being mainly to give the gravity of the matter the attention it requires. The persona reasons, “I am the son of the soil”. This line is borrowed from the Bible that acclaims that we were created from mud. The poem echoes his style and tone for concern yet for resignation mostly owing to a supreme power beyond him. In the poem, the persona has resigned to his fate and has despaired to what the world has done to its creation.

The length of the sentences in his poems is irregular; he does not have a specific length and varies them constantly. His language sounds philosophical, often with a hidden meaning. The language cannot be said to be simple. His words are short, precise and to the point. His experiences are past but brought to life by his figurative language.

Works Cited

Marvell, A., & Smith, N. The poems of Andrew Marvell. Phoenix, AZ: Pearson Longman. 2007