The Partial Explanation

“January” by Charles Simic (2015)

This poem is comprised of six lines in two stanzas that move from an image of childhood to the atrocities of power. “January” encompasses and expresses many of the themes that repeatedly appear in Simic’s work: childhood memory, absence, and the oppressive nature of political systems.

“The White Room” by Charles Simic (1990)

“The White Room” considers the secrets of trees and gods that may disguise themselves as household objects. The surrealism of the poem is underscored by sleeplessness, darkness, mysterious figures, and things that are “[d]ifficult in their obviousness.”

“The Laughing Child” by W.S. Merwin (2016)

The speaker uses a vocabulary of memory and dreams to reflect on ideas of motherhood, happiness, and time. “The Laughing Child” provides a somewhat sunnier, but still surrealist, companion reading to Simic’s work.

“Four Hinterland Abstractions” by Ray Young Bear (2015)

Echoes of winter and war reverberate throughout this poem, which imbues ordinary scenes with fantastical elements.

“After great pain, a formal feeling comes — (372)” by Emily Dickinson (1862)

In classic Dickinson style, this poem is made up of fragments and references to earthly elements such as air, stone, and snow in a consideration of life and death. The chosen syntax of the poem allows the speaker to address “great pain” with some emotional distance.