By Maggie Anderson
Who would have thought the afterlife would
look so much like Ohio? A small town place,
thickly settled among deciduous trees.
I lived for what seemed a very short time.
Several things did not work out.
Casually almost, I became another one
of the departed, but I had never imagined
the tunnel of hot wind that pulls
the newly dead into the dry Midwest
and plants us like corn. I am
not alone, but I am restless.
There is such sorrow in these geese
flying over, trying to find a place to land
in the miles and miles of parking lots
that once were soft wetlands. They seem
as puzzled as I am about where to be.
Often they glide, in what I guess is
a consultation with each other,
getting their bearings, as I do when
I stare out my window and count up
what I see. It's not much really:
one buckeye tree, three white frame houses,
one evergreen, five piles of yellow leaves.
This is not enough for any heaven I had
dreamed, but I am taking the long view.
There must be a backcountry of the beyond,
beyond even this and farther out,
past the dark smoky city on the shore
of Lake Erie, through the landlocked passages
to the Great Sweetwater Seas.
“Beyond Even This” This poem is written by Maggie Anderson. Which is taken from her A SPACE FILLED WITH MOVING a three-part collection of quintessentially American poems. This collection of poems was published in 1992. And “Beyond Even This” is a part of this collection.
In this poem Ms. Anderson has expressed her hopefulness in what lies beyond boundaries, even in the imaginative geography of an Ohio-like afterlife. She addresses this poem to herself. The poem starts with comparison of after life with Ohio. Maggie Anderson says that she had never thought that her after life would be like the small town of Ohio which is surrounded by thick trees all around. She feels that in this real world she lived for a very short period of time and could not achieve what she wanted to. She takes her death very casually.
Over here Anderson has described the way of death a very terrible one. She faces the reality now. She had never imagined that the tunnel of hot winds which is pulling the newly dead’s to those dry Rocky Mountains and planting them like corn. Then she says that in that journey she is not the only one because of which she feels secured but on the other hand she is feeling restless. The poet looks around and finds geese flying like her. Here she compares her as well as other newly dead’s as geese who are trying to find their destinations. They too are depressed as if they have lost something. In this big hard world they too are trying to find a soft little place for themselves. Anderson says that all are lost and all seemed to be very confused because everything was very difficult to understand. She expresses that very often all used to fly very smoothly which she felt as if they are advising each other about something, behaving the way what they actually are. Same as what she does when she looks out of her window and she sees what she thinks is not reality- a buckeye tree, white frame houses, a evergreen, and piles of yellow leaves. She is then depressed and says she had never dreamed of such heaven but again switches over and says may be I taking a long view. Anderson over here is hoping that there must be another country beyond even this. That country will be different from the city which is like Ohio. It won’t be like this dark polluted city which is on the banks of Lake Erie; she knows that she will move from those lands to sweet water seas. Here she makes a nice contrast between landlocked passages and sweet water seas.
The tone from the command of colloquial speech and the 'plain settings gives us a sense of 'home' even in the ominous 'backcountry of the beyond, '-a command of voice that is assuring and persuasive. The poem seems linked to a tradition ('Ohio? A small town place... the dry Midwest, ') -Wines burg, Spoon River, Grover’s' Corners, but extends it, moves beyond even this turns a new page-transcends, ('... past the dark smoky city on the shore/ of Lake Erie, through the landlocked passages/ to the Great Sweetwater Seas.' The language of the poem is very simple and easy to understand. Anderson has made a very good comparison of after life with Ohio. There is no rhyme scheme in the poem.
Who would have thought the afterlife would
look so much like Ohio? A small town place,
thickly settled among deciduous trees.
I lived for what seemed a very short time.
Several things did not work out.
Casually almost, I became another one
of the departed, but I had never imagined
the tunnel of hot wind that pulls
the newly dead into the dry Midwest
and plants us like corn. I am
not alone, but I am restless.
There is such sorrow in these geese
flying over, trying to find a place to land
in the miles and miles of parking lots
that once were soft wetlands. They seem
as puzzled as I am about where to be.
Often they glide, in what I guess is
a consultation with each other,
getting their bearings, as I do when
I stare out my window and count up
what I see. It's not much really:
one buckeye tree, three white frame houses,
one evergreen, five piles of yellow leaves.
This is not enough for any heaven I had
dreamed, but I am taking the long view.
There must be a backcountry of the beyond,
beyond even this and farther out,
past the dark smoky city on the shore
of Lake Erie, through the landlocked passages
to the Great Sweetwater Seas.
“Beyond Even This” This poem is written by Maggie Anderson. Which is taken from her A SPACE FILLED WITH MOVING a three-part collection of quintessentially American poems. This collection of poems was published in 1992. And “Beyond Even This” is a part of this collection.
In this poem Ms. Anderson has expressed her hopefulness in what lies beyond boundaries, even in the imaginative geography of an Ohio-like afterlife. She addresses this poem to herself. The poem starts with comparison of after life with Ohio. Maggie Anderson says that she had never thought that her after life would be like the small town of Ohio which is surrounded by thick trees all around. She feels that in this real world she lived for a very short period of time and could not achieve what she wanted to. She takes her death very casually.
Over here Anderson has described the way of death a very terrible one. She faces the reality now. She had never imagined that the tunnel of hot winds which is pulling the newly dead’s to those dry Rocky Mountains and planting them like corn. Then she says that in that journey she is not the only one because of which she feels secured but on the other hand she is feeling restless. The poet looks around and finds geese flying like her. Here she compares her as well as other newly dead’s as geese who are trying to find their destinations. They too are depressed as if they have lost something. In this big hard world they too are trying to find a soft little place for themselves. Anderson says that all are lost and all seemed to be very confused because everything was very difficult to understand. She expresses that very often all used to fly very smoothly which she felt as if they are advising each other about something, behaving the way what they actually are. Same as what she does when she looks out of her window and she sees what she thinks is not reality- a buckeye tree, white frame houses, a evergreen, and piles of yellow leaves. She is then depressed and says she had never dreamed of such heaven but again switches over and says may be I taking a long view. Anderson over here is hoping that there must be another country beyond even this. That country will be different from the city which is like Ohio. It won’t be like this dark polluted city which is on the banks of Lake Erie; she knows that she will move from those lands to sweet water seas. Here she makes a nice contrast between landlocked passages and sweet water seas.
The tone from the command of colloquial speech and the 'plain settings gives us a sense of 'home' even in the ominous 'backcountry of the beyond, '-a command of voice that is assuring and persuasive. The poem seems linked to a tradition ('Ohio? A small town place... the dry Midwest, ') -Wines burg, Spoon River, Grover’s' Corners, but extends it, moves beyond even this turns a new page-transcends, ('... past the dark smoky city on the shore/ of Lake Erie, through the landlocked passages/ to the Great Sweetwater Seas.' The language of the poem is very simple and easy to understand. Anderson has made a very good comparison of after life with Ohio. There is no rhyme scheme in the poem.
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