"Field Mushrooms," "The Chaff" by W.S. Merwin

W.S. Merwin's obsession with death is clearly reflected in his poem. Most of his poems talk about something, or someone that has been lost or gone. He writes about death (a serious subject) in the most eloquent way. For example, in this poem, Merwin writes, "When the last fires will wave to me," he's talking about when the time comes for him to die. It's so nicely written that if the title weren't there, you would miss it on the first read that he's talking about death. Also, the line, "And the silence will set out," talks about death in a very eloquent manner.

Remembering A Boatman

Merwin talks about the memories of a "one man standing appears slowly from behind..." It's about someone who has been gone or has passed by. The last line, "then I forget him for years," has the same tone as Merwin's death poems...passive but eloquent style.

When You Go Away

In this poem, Merwin talks about the dead. His obsession with death is reflected in the line, "It is the time when the beards of the dead get their growth." This poem has a dark tone to it, such as in the following lines, "The painters work all day but at sundown the paint falls/Showing the black walls/And at night wrapped in the bed of ashes/I remember that I am falling." I noticed here how he uses "I am" and not I'm...I suspect Merwin wants to stress how the speaker is feeling at this moment.

Field Mushrooms

I love the rhyme scheme in this poem, especially the first stanza, it rhymes beautifully. I like the detail, "with their white heads/cut into slices/under a water of plastic on a blue/section of carpet." Merwin makes a good comparison here, "or even hanging in a scale/like the piled ruins of a foot." The second stanza also has nice rhythm to it, "you could overturn a dry cow pat/by the edge of a long green swamp." The last stanza has strong images, "a suggestion of burning/signs of something already there in its own place/a texture of flesh." I like the way he describes mushrooms, making "a big deal" out of them.

The Chaff

Merwin uses long lines with very short lines such as, "eat each other/eat themselves/eat a terrible bread, baked in the dark/to its wheat." And he doesn't use punctuation in most of his poems.

How We Are Spared

This poem is very short. It only contains three lines, but it's a nice little poem. Merwin mentions the place, "midsummer" and even what part of the day, "before dawn" and not only a light returning to the mountains, but an "orange light," and he even compares this "orange light" with "a great weight" and "small birds cry out." There's a lot of good details in these three lines. Merwin says a lot in this little poem.