48 Poetry for Students
easy to visualize, and the repetition of the line “The
flies come back” helps paint the picture of a hot,
stifling summer day. Wright uses the device of an-
thropomorphism (giving human characteristics to
animals or inanimate objects) frequently in his
work, and, here, the “afternoon” itself takes human
form. As though it can’t decide whether to expose
its lush green summery side or wilt under the burn
of its temperature, it “Teeters a bit on its green
edges, / then settles like dead weight / Next to our
memories, and the pale hems of the masters’
gowns.”Lines 13-24:
The second stanza of the poem introduces fun-
damental religious beliefs in relation to death and
the human reaction to it. Beginning with a biblical
saying and including other religious imagery (“dust
and ashes,” “gates of mercy,” “aura,” and “speak-
ing in tongues”), this stanza exposes the narrator
as somewhat of a bystander in the events he de-
scribes, speaking mostly in third person and offer-
ing little personal judgment or concern. The first
eight lines depict a variety of entrances into heaven
from those who will “cry out in praise” to those
who will “go wordlessly,” to those who will “re-
vile [curse or use abusive language] him out of love
/ and deep disdain.” In line 19, Wright uses an as-
tronomical allusion to describe the “gates of
mercy,” saying they are “like an eclipse” and serve
to “darken our undersides.” In other words, the sins
which must be accounted for while standing at the
entrance to heaven will appear even worse, or
darker, at the moment of reckoning.
Lines 20-24 appear to take place in a cemetery
where the dead are rising to enter into heaven, as
recorded in various Christian doctrines. Wright re-
minds us again of the summer heat (“August hu-
midity / Bright as auras around our bodies”) and
then continues to describe the reaction of the peo-
ple facing a first-hand encounter with divinity:
“And some will utter the words,/ speaking in fear
and tongues.” They hate their clothing that is
“splotched by the flesh” because at this point the
flesh is no longer necessary, nor even wanted, for
it only serves to mask or hide the true beauty of
the soul. The dead are “twice-erased” since they
left the earth when they died, and are now leaving
again with the second coming of Christ.Lines 25-31:
In these eight lines, Wright shifts away from
religious fundamentalism toward “sidereal” allu-
sions, or, descriptions relating to stars and the con-stellations. A “sidereal roadmap,” for instance, is
one based on the movement of the stars on a daily
basis. Alighieri Dante, an Italian poet who wrote
The Divine Comedy,and Saint John Chrysostom,
born in what is now Turkey and noted for his elo-
quent speaking ability, are mentioned because of
their associations with religious pilgrimages. Here,
though, Wright suggests that they may find the af-
ternoon skya map for a pilgrimage, of sorts. In line
27, Wright addresses the reader directly, saying
“You might too” find the “afternoon a sidereal
roadmap.”
Other references to the sky include the “pre-
jaundiced [not yet yellow] outline of the quarter
moon” and the “Clouds skulling [propelling] down-
sky.” At this point, Wright brings the idea of lan-
guageinto the poem, the specifics of narrative and
of words themselves. The clouds streaming across
the sky are “like a narrative for whatever comes,”
and “What hasn’t happened to happen yet” is “Still
lurking behind the stars.” It’s as though the speaker
is analyzing astrological objects in literary terms,
with the clouds and moon following a sequence as
would a novel or short story.Lines 32-36:
The last half of the third stanza presents a se-
ries of images connecting landscape, death, and
memory. The mention of insects is a return to the
flies pointed out in the first stanza, and the “space
graffiti” implies the stars, moon, and sun splattered
about the sky like words on a wall. Once again, the
poet uses a reference to language itself (graffiti) to
describe heavenly bodies. Wright calls the stars
“white holes / In the landscape” and claims that
they “lead to dust” in other words, to death and the
biblical heaven in the sky. While we may feel pain
or fear death, these “avenues” to our demise “han-
dle our hurt with ease.” Line 35 (“waters above the
earth”) is a striking metaphor for the sky, compar-
ing its blue to the blue of the oceans. The stanza
ends with another unanswerable rhetorical ques-
tion, asserting that our memories are always better
than present thought. In asking why the “great sto-
ries always exist in the past,” Wright implies that
we tend to recall events and experiences with un-
due intensity and romanticize or inflate those hap-
penings through memory.Lines 37-44:
The fourth stanza of “Black Zodiac” takes a
philosophical turn, beginning with a reference to
the Greek philosopher Socrates, who stated that,
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” Wright’sBlack Zodiac