Under the death of winter's leaves he lies
who cried to Nothing and the terrible night
to be his home and bread. "O take from me
the weight and waterfall ceaseless Time
that batters down my weakness; the knives of light
whose thrust I cannot turn; the cruelty
of human eyes that dare not touch nor pity."
Under the worn leaves of the winter city
safe in the house of Nothing now he lies.
His white and burning girl, his woman of fire,
creeps to his heart and sets a candle there
to melt away the flesh that hides from bone,
to eat the nerve that tethers him in time.
He will lie warm until the bone is bare
and on a dead dark moon he wakes alone.
It was for Death he took her; death is but this;
and yet he is uneasy under her kiss
and winces from that acid of her desire.
Notes
Metho - a short version of the chemical 'Methylated Spirit'. It is also kown as 'Poor Man's Wine'
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From guest stef (contact)
The use of the capital letter in Nothing gives the impression that "Nothing" has taken the place of his "God" consequently he turns to the metho as his religion and narcotic to numb the pain of lonliness he feels. If you substitute Nothing with God it makes perfect sense. "Cried to God"... "House of God"... I studied this poem in class a couple of days ago, I really enjoy the imagery Wright uses in her poems, especially in this one where she personifies the metho as his "white and burning girl". -
Appreciating Metho Drinker
From guest Anonymous (contact)
This is an interesting poem. Too bad it has to be used for our exam. Destroys the whole thing. -
From guest Brisbane Boy (contact)
Hey I am just wondering which purpose of poetry is the above poem pursueing. Thank you so much if you ca help as I am presenting an Oral task that analyses how a certain poem uses a purpose of poetry. Thanks -
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Your question automatically poses another one. What *IS* the purpose of poetry.
To me I write poetry primarily to enjoy the mental exercise and hopefully entertain the reader. Anything else such as teaching or preaching is very much secondary.
As a reader the purpose of poetry is to entertain me and again learning is a secondary consideration.
I think Judith is simply sharing what she sees in a way she thinks people will read.
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From guest Anonymous (contact)
Hey I am just wondering what purpose of poetry is the above poem trying to pursue, is Judith revealing her feelings, is she arousing our emotions, is she describing someone or is she changing our attitudes? Thanks heaps if you can assist. -
comparing texts
From guest vhia (contact)
i'm thinking of choosing this poem for a text analysis. We are studying 'Othello' in class and it is based on the Outsider concept. Although the poem i need to choose needs to relate to Othello in a way...theres not much here on the surface, although if i go further into depth i might find something. Any suggestions, to people who have studied both texts? thanks -
Moon shine
This simply eloquant poem is encroached with experience, for I don't know wether to drink the title or embalm it upon my skin.
Well the suggestion of tree's even say's it's some untoward sacred healing potion (this could be my stuff). But the 100% toxitity when consummed is far more clean than any bottle of cheap sherry so whats Judith Wright really saying... Well looking closer its two verses 9 lines each 10 syylables the second verse almost every line ends with the letter E , I feel a man colapses in the forrest possibly drunk or maybe the methylated spirit reminds the writer of this man collapsed possibly of a heart failure, but then again I'm often mistaken. I like this poem.
Tah. -
The line; 'O take from me the weight and waterfall of ceaseless Time, that batters down my weakness' is basically personifying time (notice the capital 'T') as a burden, something enslaving the homeless man, something 'battering down his weakness'. I studied this poem at school and I interpret the 'white and burning girl' as the metho itself. The heat of the metho burning him from inside is what 'melts away the flesh that hides the bone' and 'eats away the nerve that tethers him in time' -- in other words he is escaping time, bringing himself into non-existence, killing himself. Well that's my interpretation anyway.
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this is a really good poem im not much of a poetry person myself but im studying this text for school and i wud just like to say thanks to y'all for helping me understand her terminology!! also i cant quiet explian the "O take from me
the weight and waterfall ceaseless Time
that batters down my weakness" help anyone? -
its ironical how this poem talks about death n being ostricised from society, (cold subjects) "under the death of winters leaves", however the metho "his white and burning girl" who he "desires" is a way of escaping this reality that he has not meet societies expectations, the irony is that metho brings him warmth. he shall remain nameless as it could be any homless person that walks the streets. the capitals in "Nothing""Death" and "Time" emphasises that they are all he has left in the world. "he is uneasy under her kiss/and winces from that acid of her desires" shows how this addiction to metho is killin him, he is aware of this fact yet his desire and need for her is so strong that he cannot stop. judith transforms metho into a woman and then finally into death!
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excelent I particualy enloy personifacation of the metho. Well done, easily her best work in my eyes
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Yes, the poem is very sad and also pleasureable to read, she shows much sympathy for the homeless person...In the last 3 sentenses she uses an the expression "ambiguous" to show that his life is meaningless and he wants to die but to die it will be very painful....but great poem.
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The thing about this poem, where I live, there are so many here, and in Tulsa just like this. Seems most of this area, is made of drunks and druggies, so you see more of them, than anything else... Nice picture?
She does a good job on showing what the drink can do to a person. -
ohhhhh the poem was just wonderful, i did it for a school project, i thought it was extrodenery!!!!
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The Woman to Man anthology 1946 deals with the relationships of me and women. After looking into this poem I see a connection of the woman "buring girl" and relationship to the drunkard.
I also see the 'flesh melting away from the bones' not only as the malnurished diet but as the social problem. Poeverty on our streets as expressed in the poem is often pushed aside, i see this within "the creutly of human eyes that dare not touch or pity" exposing a social problem of society.
I also suppose that the Metho is portrayed as a woman as like a strong relationship with a woman, the man longs to be with his lover 'uneasy' with the 'acid of her desire.'
Just my thoughts
-Spitfire -
I agree with Ben they way she describes this deteriorating man gives me a strong image and even gives me emotions of guilt and sadness
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Wow... that certainly creates a powerful image in your head if you think about it. Very interesting poem. *goes to read more*
*~OD~* -
I believe the 'flesh melting away from bones' refers to the fact that he doesn't eat - Metho(poor man's wine) - he gets to drink as he has no money for 'grog'. It's his way of getting out of the real world for a while, not realising or even caring that 'She' (the metho) is actually killing him.
Sad part is there are people who live this way in modern times too.
~Von~ -
whats with the demonism with flesh melting away from bones? Does metho refer to some kind of drug? Opium?
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quite a picture of love as an acid desire / death
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great choice for the poem of the day.
I love the way it pushes you on, especially through the second paragraph, yikes! -
I find it interesting that Wright gave the Methylated Spirit a female gender. I can't work out exactly why she did this.
A destitute man, using leaves as a blanket - perhaps he sees the Metho as cruel and fickle as a woman can be.
Powerful visual quality this poem possesses.
~Von~ -
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Interpretation
Perhaps we need to see passed the Methylated Spirits as a drug that kills him. Perhaps the Methylated Spirits, which is referred to as a woman, is a metaphor for the land and, in a much greater capacity, society. Mother Nature, mother land, this is the woman. My interpretation reads into the displacement of Indigenous people in Australian society. I believe that the poem explores, at a much deeper level, the transgenerational trauma, grief, pain and suffering that runs through the blood of Indigenous society. In many Indigenous cultures, lifehood is generated through the stages: conception, birth, babyhood, childhood, young adulthood, adulthood, elders and death. Death is a celebration of going back to the land in which you began. When the British invaded Australia in 1788, Indigenous cultures eroded at the hands of colonisation. A man has Nothing but Death and Time, if he has lost everything he has ever known.
-Heather -
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You have some good points Heather--but the title of the poem, and its contents lend better to substance abuse. An addict is a desperate person, and anything that can serve the craving fits the bill. The man is homeless, an addict and all he can afford is dirt cheap alcohol--the kind that burns the inner linings of the internal organs (stanza 2). The proof level exceeds that of "moonshine", which was the highly profitable version of alcohol during the Prohibition Era.
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