Bone by C.K. Williams Poem Analysis
Bone was released in C.K. Williams poetry collection entitled "Falling Ill" in January 2017, two years after his passing. It's an expression experiencing a decaying body and quelling the certainty of departing from this life. This poem is devastating and raw. Bone by C.K. Williams poem analysis explores mortality as the theme and connects this concept to his imagery.
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Bone by C.K. Williams Poem Analysis
Bone
By C.K. Williams
And my bones and my living flesh turning
to stone how will they manage their fusion
how will I be brought as every being
must be sooner or later to its inevitable
transformation its passing from unending
to ending when time is once again a canal
like that through which our eruption into
the selves that exalt and suffer clutched us
will there be fractures in the suddenly
vulnerable precarious systems do we end
as tangles of molecules slashing ourselves
like the tails of comets until we cry out
if we could only deceive death reach into
the mechanism and stop it just dial
the swiveling switch so it would read off
About the Author
C. K. Williams found recognition through several collections of poems, various translations, and a memoir. Williams's style pulls a reader in; his sentences are long, and his characterization is vital to his prose. His early work was more political but shifted to a reflective approach towards life and people. His first collection of poetry, Poems 1963-1983, was published in 1988, and he lived until 2015.
Reflections
The author is trying to come to terms with his death. The physical body he inhabits for an entire lifetime will become stone. It will be part of the earth. Although he speaks of its inevitability, death is never a reality until one faces it. We push it to the shadows, but death coexists with this existence. A world seen as unending is purposely avoiding the truth - life will end.
The lines are a reflection of time and how we enter this world.
"/to ending when time is once again a canal /
/like that through which our eruption into/
/the selves that exalt and suffer clutched us/"
Bone by C.K. Williams
We are creatures bound by time. Death makes us realize how fleeting this existence is, and within that limitation, we reflect on how to live.
For the living, death is alleviation of suffering, but creates a void for those left on earth, because a presence is absent from life. The person is no longer on earth with us, and we cannot articulate the idea of where they may be.
Yet our greatest fear is leaving behind our own physical form. We don't understand the transformation afterwards. Not only do we witness our body decay from the wrinkles of time, but we also must part with the only form we ever knew. We don’t know what comes after this life - that terrifies us.
Towards the end of this poem, C.K. Williams literally expresses his desire to cheat death; he wishes it were like a phone he could turn off.
What is calling at the other end of your phone? And do you have the courage to pick it up?
The reality is that we can't avoid death. As humans, we must find faith that there is something next. Whatever you want to name it, find it, otherwise, you will lose your mind. Getting through the emptiness death brings by believing there is more than an end is the only peace we can bring to the living.
Analysis
"Falling Ill" by C. K. WIlliams; Poetry Analysis of "Bone"
Theme
Mortality:
The whole poem is a contemplation and examination of what mortality means when you are facing death. It's a person coming to terms with their humanity and not wanting to part with this existence.
Imagery
The imagery bleeds through the lines; he expresses that leaving this plane will be another canal. I interpret this as another emergence into a world like the vaginal canal we entered coming to earth. He is visualizing that the next place we go to will be a similar experience.
"/to ending when time is once again a canal /"
Bone by C.K. Williams
/as tangles of molecules slashing ourselves /
/like the tails of comets until we cry out/
Bone by C.K. Williams
Here, the author shows us that something within the body is killing itself from the inside out. Maybe it's cancer. Maybe it’s an autoimmune disease forcing the narrator to confront his greatest fear: death beckons me.
He visually expresses this beautifully and painfully as a comet flying through the atmosphere crying out. It’s a blip in the infinite universe, but for him, it is his universe. His time is coming to an end, and it's as real as the tails of comets that fly across the galaxy on fire. I attribute this to him showing us what he believes it feels like when death is at your door.
Death comes for all of us. How and when it is our time to leave this earth is unknown. But we must come to terms with it in chunks before it’s officially knocking on our doorstep, and we are a comet's tail, racing away from the inevitable.
What are your thoughts on Bone by C.K. Williams poem analysis? Would you read the rest of the collection? Have you read this book? Leave a comment below!
