Poem named lost author:david wagoner - Essay Example

David Wagoner’s “Lost” David Wagoner’s poem “Lost” seems simple enough at first glance. It consists of 12 short lines of seeming prose with no rhyme scheme or established meter. Skimming the words provides an impression that the poem is about nature, particularly as it relates to a forest. However, a closer look at the poem reveals a much deeper meaning that enables its reader to step out of time for a moment into a sphere of mental collusion with the poet to observe what is happening around them.

As a result, the poem instigates philosophical thought as it ponders the human ability to mentally separate themselves from the physical world into a place of peace even as it makes a social commentary on the nature of humankind and the postmodern loss of identity. In philosophical terms, the poem presents the possibility of allowing the mind to escape the realities of the body. This is suggested in the second line where Wagoner introduces the concept that “Wherever you are is called Here.

” Without asking where you are, though, he immediately places the mind within the context of the forest as he indicates that the “trees ahead and bushes beside you / Are not lost” (1), which prepares one for his later assertion that “I have made this place around you” (6). Yet before we are able to enjoy this place, we must learn the rules of the game. We “Must ask permission to know it and be known” (4). In other words, before we can appreciate the imaginary space that is to be shared between the author and the reader, we must be willing to listen for it, to be open to the experience and to be willing to part with a little of ourselves to the scene.

Once it has been attained, though, the mind can always return to this space just by “saying Here” (7) and invoking the spirit of the poem. If you are able to consider things like how the tree is different to Raven or the branches are different to the wren, then you have achieved this space. If not, “You are surely lost” (11). Yet even then, there is still hope. Wagoner advises the truly lost to simply stop and stand still instead of trying to pursue it. “The forest knows / Where you are.

You must let it find you” (11-12). This highlights the concept that only in quiet thought can this philosophical state of mind be found. On a social level, the poem speaks to the rush and tumble of the postmodern lifestyle as well as the sense of isolation that has emerged as a result. “The trees ahead and bushes beside you” (1) could be interpreted as the people that move around you in the city, those individuals that you typically brush past but pay almost no attention to. However, Wagoner says they are not lost (2), but are merely awaiting anyone to stop and listen.

“The forest breathes. Listen. It answers” (5). While we may have lost ourselves to the general rush of city life and the sense of being overrun by a swarm of humanity, Wagoner points out that every tree is different to the Raven and every branch is different to the Wren. The difference is not in the people, but in whether we are taking the time to appreciate our individuality. If you are surely lost and can no longer appreciate these differences, the answer is again to simply stand still and listen, the crowd will divide into individuals for you.

Using the same language, this poem is able to express both the philosophical concept of the mind/body connection as well as the concept of alienation and machination that has emerged with the modern social structures. The poem speaks to the postmodern society of how to attain a sense of connectedness even as it works to make this connection in its lines. It also provides a soothing philosophical space in which this connection can be considered within its continued mental image of a peaceful forest setting.

Works CitedWagoner, David. “Lost.” Traveling Light: Collected and New Poems. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1999.