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Poems & Prayers
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Symbols & Motifs
Citation Note: In this section, quotations from the poems are cited by page number.
Hills and Climbing
The collection’s emphasis on the importance of moving forward through obstacles makes the image of climbing uphill a natural visual metaphor. This imagery recurs several times in the poems, from literal description of treacherous terrain, to more symbolic evocations of mountains as the embodiment of goal-oriented struggle.
In “Hills,” the hills described are both literal and symbolic. McConaughey writes in a note on the poem that he wrote it on a bike ride in Vietnam, when he was “halfway up an excruciating hill” on his way home. As he struggled his way up, he realized that hills are “just necessary parts of life’s terrain, there for the climbing” (103). The hills in the poem, in addition to their real-life existence, represent the challenges that life presents; they have to be overcome even though there are many of them.
In “America, Yet,” mountains are used as a symbol of long-term potential for progress and the seeming impossibility of prevailing. Drawing on a metaphor made famous by Martin Luther King Jr., McConaughey describes the American dream as perched at the top of an inaccessible peak that must nevertheless be scaled: “The mountaintop we will never crest, yet continue to climb” (184).
Proverbs
McConaughey writes many proverbs whose gnomic pronouncements and aggressively folksy wisdom function like a recurring motif. Typically, they punctuate the poems that precede them by offering a kind of moral summary of or winking aside about the same theme. By including original proverbs in his work, McConaughey follows the work of English Romantic poet William Blake, whose The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790-1793) also contains proverbs that succinctly summarize Blake’s understanding of life.
Some of McConaughey’s proverbs are easy to understand, although he often words them to be less obvious in meaning. He wants the reader to reflect on them and puzzle them out. The proverbs use parallel constructions and rhetorical balance to offer encouragement alongside friendly warnings. For example, “Without complacency, trust that time is on your side” (65), affirms that there is no need to rush, but also reminds readers not to get too pleased with themselves. “It’s good when your success goes to your head. As long as it goes to your heart as well” (87) praises the achievements that come from ambition, but nudges to remember the value of moral and emotional uprightness. “Never give up your right to do the next right thing. This is how we find our way home” (104) points out that a life of integrity and right action is essential for authenticity (and for adherence to the Christian ideals that make God home). “If you cannot stop the lies, become less gullible” (180) is a practical recommendation to develop a thicker skin to prevent unduly falling for deception.
Not all the proverbs are accessible on a first read. For instance, it is hard to parse “Prevention before the cure is in need. Where courage is not of revenge. But of suffering to succeed” (81), which seems to prioritize rhythm and rhyme over discernible meaning.
Prayers
Prayer that directly addresses God is another recurring motif. McConaughey practices a version Christianity that he calls in his introduction “intentional surrender” (18), which he paradoxically describes as leading to personal freedom.
The poetic prayers in the collection are most often about individual needs and shortcomings, as if God is a guru of self-improvement. In “Selfish,” McConaughey asks God for help in trusting, loving, forgiving, and knowing himself—egocentric desires that are pointed to as such by the title. He also wants to “pray enough to know you” (118).
The personal nature of the prayers is emphasized by the direct address McConaughey uses. Rather than preserving the formal naming rituals of the Church, several poems begin with the informal one-word salutation, “God,” as if he were writing God an email; others begin “Dear God” (130, 168) as if he is writing him a letter. One poem opens with “Hey God” (153), as if they are good friends who have known each other for a long time. Another very informal poem to God, as if he might be a guy McConaughey is talking to in a bar, begins, “God, give me another sip of forgiveness / before I am drunk with resentment” (164). McConaughey means no disrespect by the informality of his approach; he is simply indicating that God is not a being to fear but more a friend to consult.
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