My fondness for James Wright's poetry goes back to my early days in the Ohio River town of Martins Ferry, Ohio. Wright grew up there in the 1920s and 1930s, and I grew up in Martins Ferry in the 1950s and early 1960s. Here is my analysis of Wright's "The Journey." First, the poem:
The Journey by James Wright
Anghiari is medieval, a sleeve sloping down
A steep hill, suddenly sweeping out
To the edge of a cliff, and dwindling.
But far up the mountain, behind the town,
We too were swept out, out by the wind,
Alone with the Tuscan grass.
Wind had been blowing across the hills
For days, and everything now was graying gold
With dust, everything we saw, even
Some small children scampering along a road,
Twittering Italian to a small caged bird.
We sat beside them to rest in some brushwood,
And I leaned down to rinse the dust from my face.
I found the spider web there, whose hinges
Reeled heavily and crazily with the dust,
Whole mounds and cemeteries of it, sagging
And scattering shadows among shells and wings.
And then she stepped into the center of air
Slender and fastidious, the golden hair
Of daylight along her shoulders, she poised there,
While ruins crumbled on every side of her.
Free of the dust, as though a moment before
She had stepped inside the earth, to bathe herself.
I gazed, close to her, till at last she stepped
Away in her own good time.
Many men
Have searched all over Tuscany and never found
What I found there, the heart of the light
Itself shelled and leaved, balancing
On filaments themselves falling. The secret
Of this journey is to let the wind
Blow its dust all over your body,
To let it go on blowing, to step lightly, lightly
All the way through your ruins, and not to lose
Any sleep over the dead, who surely
Will bury their own, don't worry.
Analysis of "The Journey" By Don Iannone
"The Journey" is an evocative poem that explores themes of transience, self-discovery, and the transformative power of nature. These themes are more often found in poems from Wright's latter years during his travels in Europe. Set against the backdrop of medieval Anghiari in Tuscany, the poem captures a moment of profound introspection amidst the landscape's dusty winds and crumbling ruins.
Wright's encounter with a spider web laden with dust serves as a metaphor for the impermanence of life, yet amidst this decay, he observes a moment of exquisite beauty embodied by a woman stepping gracefully into the sunlight. This momentary encounter with grace amidst decay becomes a symbol of the enduring resilience of the human spirit.
Wright suggests that enlightenment and self-discovery come not from avoiding life's trials and tribulations but from embracing them fully. The journey, as depicted in the poem, involves allowing oneself to be swept up by the winds of change, to confront the ruins of one's past without fear or regret, and to find solace in the ever-renewing cycles of life and nature.
Ultimately, "The Journey" encourages readers to embrace life's inherent impermanence, find beauty amidst decay, and approach each new experience with a lightness of being and a sense of wonder.