The Lightkeeper Poem Analysis
Carolyn Forché takes us on a voyage to transcend time and we explore the depths of this theme in The Lightkeeper poem analysis.
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About the Author:
Carolyn Forché is a poet, teacher, and activist, born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1950. She is considered a political poet but refers to her pieces as “poetry of witness”. Through her experiences abroad, she encapsulates the trauma and pain she witnessed. But that's not all she writes; she shares love, life, and adventure. Her voice moves us as if we are walking along with her words.
The Lightkeeper
by Carolyn Forché
A night without ships. Foghorns calling into walled cloud, and you
still alive, drawn to the light as if it were a fire kept by monks,
darkness once crusted with stars, but now death-dark as you sail inward.
Through wild gorse and sea wrack, through heather and torn wool
you ran, pulling me by the hand, so I might see this for once in my life:
the spin and spin of light, the whirring of it, light in search of the lost,
there since the era of fire, era of candles and hollow wick lamps,
whale oil and solid wick, colza and lard, kerosene and carbide,
the signal fires lighted on this perilous coast in the Tower of Hook.
You say to me, Stay awake, be like the lens maker who died with his
lungs full of glass, be the yew in blossom when bees swarm, be
their amber cathedral and even the ghosts of Cistercians will be kind
to you.
In a certain light as after rain, in pearled clouds or the water beyond,
seen or sensed water, sea or lake, you would stop still and gaze out
for a long time. Also, when fireflies opened and closed in the pines,
and a star appeared, our only heaven. You taught me to live like this.
That after death it would be as it was before we were born. Nothing
to be afraid. Nothing but happiness as unbearable as the dread
from which it comes. Go toward the light always, be without ships.
The Lightkeeper Poem Analysis
Theme: To Transcend
Forché takes us through a lighthouse as if we are walking along with her. We enter a place that transcends time - it is timeless. Yet, a lighthouse has endured time because from flame to bulb, it has guided lost captains home from the sea.
There are two takeaways from The Lightkeeper by Carolyn Forché.
Freedom
Follow the light.
1. Freedom
There are people who embody the concept of pure freedom. They move through life like a flame dancing upon its wick and we crave to feel their warmth.
When they appear, it's wise to follow their lead to unleash ourselves and find meaning in our life. Few people represent this light, but when found, they feel magnetic.
There is something radiant about their determination to seek and feel everything. They may be aiding you through a lesson you must learn, which could loosen your grip on yourself.
2. Follow the Light
There is a universal saying to “follow the light”, and when you see it at your deathbed go with it, so what if that truly were the case? What if loved ones waiting atop that lighthouse showing you the path to your eternal home?
Forché says,
“That after death it would be as it was before we were born. Nothing//
to be afraid. Nothing but happiness as unbearable as the dread//
from which it comes…”
The Lightkeeper by Carolyn Forché
In this adventure called life, the lighthouse beckons us to return to the land where we initially set sail.
Reflections:
Forché’s language and pacing enchant me, and the gravity of this poem is raw and magnetic. I absolutely love this poem. I had to look up some of the words she used, making it a more fruitful experience.
The Lightkeeper is heavily atmospheric and pulls me into a memory from which she relives the intensity of being guided through a lighthouse. She relives the glory and purpose that tether ships.
A lighthouse has been lit by multiple generations to safely lead us home, through various wick and electrical functionalities, but it always does the same thing - it guides us home.
This poem is about transcendence. When all seems lost and wrecked, there is a path to find freedom while we are here, so then we can safely voyage to our eternal home.
Thanks for reading with me!
