A Library of Skulls [poem 3]

Shelves and stacks and shelves of skulls, a Dewey

Decimal number inked on each unfurrowed forehead.

Here's a skull

who, before he lost his fleshy parts

and lower bones, once

walked beside a river (we're in the poetry section

now) his head full of love

and loneliness; and this smaller skull,

in the sociology stacks, smiling (they're all

smiling)—it's been empty

a hundred years. That slot

across the temple? An ax blow

that fractured

her here. Look at this one from the children's shelves,

a baby, his fontanel

a screaming mouth and this time no teeth, no smile.

Here's a few (history)—a murderer,

and this one—see how close their eye sockets!—a thief,

and here's a rack of torturers' skulls

beneath which a longer row of the tortured,

and look: generals' row,

their epaulets

on the shelves to each side of them.

Shelves and shelves, stacks stacked on top of stacks,

floor above floor,

this towering high-rise library

of skulls, not another bone in the place

and just now the squeak of a wheel

on a cart piled high with skulls

on their way back to shelves

while in the next aisle

a cart filling with those about to be loaned

to the tall, broken-hearted man waiting

at the desk, his library card

face down before him.

                        

                             

Comment:-

Lux’s poem contains rather striking and unusual images that disturb or amuse at first and then coalesce into feelings more lasting than the initial reaction. The words that flow out of these striking titles make us traverse through spaces that are vivid and well-crafted. Lux’s poems always makes the reader decipher a deep side of the poem he wants to express , its startling how he uncovers layers the buried stories and mystery behind mere stack of bones. An untold story behind hundreds of dissipating skulls. He describes a skull of a thoughtful man and a lover, a skull of a crying child, and even that of a murderer. His manner of presenting is metaphorical one and makes the reader visualize vivid images through his flamboyant writing style.

This poem is also an example of the neo-surrealism era discussed in the previous blog, which is reflected by this particular poem. Many of lux’s poem in his notable published works like “The Street of Clocks”  and the latest one being “God Particles” consists of poetries expressing the darker “gothic” side. The unmistakable skill of Thomas Lux lies in creating an aftertaste, which is like the coolness felt after water evaporates away. As we discover the tenderness with which he deals with human frailties, we realize that all this satire, wit and imagery is just there to make us stop and listen. I personally feel lucky enough to read and review the works of such a talented poet and understand the meaning and nuances between the lines, which broadened the horizon of my vision and deciphering the unsaid. It made me more aware of the fact that a poetry can say a lot, without actually saying it that way!