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In late winter

Original Poetry

Translation

In late winter

I sometimes glimpse bits of steam

I sometimes see small bits of steam

coming up from

some fault in the old snow

some crack in the old snow

and bend close and see it is lung-colored

and lean in close and see it is the color of lungs

and put down my nose

and put my nose down

and know

and recognize

the chilly, enduring odor of bear.

the cold, lasting smell of bear.

I take a wolf’s rib and whittle

I take a wolf's rib and carve it

it sharp at both ends

sharp at both ends

and coil it up

and twist it up

and freeze it in blubber and place it out

and freeze it in fat and place it out

on the fairway of the bears.

on the bears' path.

And when it has vanished

And when it has disappeared

I move out on the bear tracks,

I follow the bear tracks,

roaming in circles

wandering in circles

until I come to the first, tentative, dark

until I find the first, uncertain, dark

splash on the earth.

splash on the ground.

And I set out

And I begin

running, following the splashes

of blood wandering over the world.

of blood moving across the world.

At the cut, gashed resting places

At the cuts, gashes where he rested

I stop and rest,

I pause and rest,

at the crawl-marks

at the marks where

where he lay out on his belly

he lay on his belly

to overpass some stretch of bauchy ice

to cross some stretch of soft ice

I lie out

I lie down

dragging myself forward with bear-knives in my fists.

pulling myself forward with bear knives in my hands.

On the third day I begin to starve,

On the third day I start to starve,

at nightfall I bend down as I knew I would

at a turd sopped in blood,

at a piece of feces soaked in blood,

and hesitate, and pick it up,

and thrust it in my mouth, and gnash it down,

and shove it in my mouth, and chew it down,

and rise

and go on running.

and continue running.

On the seventh day,

living by now on bear blood alone,

living now only on bear blood,

I can see his upturned carcass far out ahead, a scraggled,

I can see his turned carcass far ahead, a ragged,

steamy hulk,

steamy mass,

the heavy fur riffling in the wind.

the heavy fur fluttering in the wind.

I come up to him

I approach him

and stare at the narrow-spaced, petty eyes,

and look at the narrow, petty eyes,

the dismayed

the shocked

face laid back on the shoulder, the nostrils

flared, catching

open, catching

perhaps the first taint of me as he

perhaps the first scent of me as he

died.

I hack

I cut

a ravine in his thigh, and eat and drink,

a hole in his thigh, and eat and drink,

and tear him down his whole length

and tear him down his entire length

and open him and climb in

and open him and climb inside

and close him up after me, against the wind,

and sleep.

And dream

of lumbering flatfooted

of moving clumsily

over the tundra,

stabbed twice from within,

splattering a trail behind me,

leaving a trail behind me,

splattering it out no matter which way I lurch,

spilling it out no matter which way I stumble,

no matter which parabola of bear-transcendence,

no matter which arc of bear-transcendence,

which dance of solitude I attempt,

which dance of solitude I try,

which gravity-clutched leap,

which gravity-bound leap,

which trudge, which groan.

which trudging, which groan.

Until one day I totter and fall—

Until one day I wobble and fall—

fall on this

stomach that has tried so hard to keep up,

stomach that has worked so hard to keep up,

to digest the blood as it leaked in,

to digest the blood as it flowed in,

to break up

to break down

and digest the bone itself: and now the breeze

and digest the bone itself: and now the wind

blows over me, blows off

blows over me, blows away

the hideous belches of ill-digested bear blood

the horrible belches of poorly digested bear blood

and rotted stomach

and rotten stomach

and the ordinary, wretched odor of bear,

and the common, miserable smell of bear,

blows across

my sore, lolled tongue a song

my sore, relaxed tongue a song

or screech, until I think I must rise up

or screech, until I think I must get up

and dance. And I lie still.

I awaken I think. Marshlights

I wake up I think. Marshlights

reappear, geese

come trailing again up the flyway.

In her ravine under old snow the dam-bear

In her ravine under old snow the mother bear

lies, licking

lumps of smeared fur

clumps of smeared fur

and drizzly eyes into shapes

and watery eyes into shapes

with her tongue. And one

hairy-soled trudge stuck out before me,

hairy-footed step stuck out before me,

the next groaned out,

the next,

the rest of my days I spend

wandering: wondering

what, anyway,

was that sticky infusion, that rank flavor of blood, that poetry, by which I lived?

was that sticky mixture, that strong taste of blood, that poetry, by which I lived?

Explanation

In this poem, James Wright explores the themes of survival and the raw connection between humans and nature through visceral imagery and a narrative of desperation. The speaker begins in late winter, noticing steam rising from the snow, which leads to the recognition of the bear's presence. The line "the chilly, enduring odor of bear" encapsulates the primal essence of the wilderness, emphasizing the speaker's deep immersion in this harsh environment.

As the poem progresses, the speaker takes a wolf's rib and prepares it as bait, illustrating a blend of ingenuity and instinct. The act of following the bear tracks and encountering the blood splashes signifies a journey into the depths of nature's brutality. The phrase "dragging myself forward with bear-knives in my fists" conveys both determination and desperation as the speaker confronts the harsh realities of survival.

The emotional arc shifts dramatically as the speaker begins to starve, resorting to consuming bear feces, a stark representation of the lengths one will go to survive. This moment is both grotesque and poignant, highlighting the struggle for life amidst dire circumstances. The imagery of the bear's carcass, described as a "scraggled, steamy hulk," evokes a sense of both reverence and horror, as the speaker ultimately consumes the bear, merging their existence with that of the creature.

Wright employs powerful literary devices such as vivid imagery, repetition, and stark contrasts between life and death. The repeated references to blood and the visceral details of the bear's body create a haunting atmosphere, while the final lines reflect a profound existential questioning. The poem concludes with the speaker pondering the significance of their experiences, encapsulating the struggle for meaning in the face of survival. Overall, Wright's work resonates with themes of nature's indifference and the human spirit's resilience, making it a compelling exploration of life and death in the wilderness.

Word Dictionary16

Word	In English	Plain (English)	Pron.
glimpse	see briefly	to catch a quick view of something	glimps
fault	crack or break	a defect or imperfection	fault
lung-colored	the color of lungs	a shade resembling that of human lungs	lung-kalurd
blubber	fat from animals	thick fat, especially from whales or seals	blubber
fairway	path or route	a path used by animals, especially for hunting	fairway
tentative	uncertain or hesitant	not definite or fixed	tentative
splash	a spot of liquid	a mark made by a liquid hitting a surface	splash
crawl-marks	marks left by crawling	traces left by an animal moving on its belly	crawl-marks
bauchy	soft or mushy	referring to a soft, yielding surface	bauchi
turd	feces	solid waste from an animal	turd
carcass	dead body of an animal	the body of a dead animal	carcass
dismayed	distressed or shocked	feeling concern or disappointment	dismayed
ravine	deep valley	a deep, narrow gorge with steep sides	ravine
splattering	spilling or scattering	to scatter or splash liquid	splattering
belches	burps	to expel gas noisily from the stomach	belches
infusion	mix or blend	the process of steeping something in liquid to extract flavor or essence	infusion

Poet & Context

PoetJames Wright

Era20th century

James Wright was an American poet known for his poignant and often autobiographical poetry. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1977 and is celebrated for his ability to convey deep emotion and the human experience.

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When1976

WhyThe poem reflects themes of survival, nature, and the visceral connection between humans and animals, exploring the depths of desperation and the instinctual drive to live.

Formfree verse

Themes & More

Themes

SurvivalNature and WildernessDesperationExistential ReflectionHuman-Animal Connection

Literary devices

Imagery: Vivid descriptions create a strong sense of place and emotion.Repetition: The use of repeated phrases emphasizes the speaker's struggle and connection to the bear.Metaphor: The bear serves as a metaphor for survival and the primal instincts within humans.Personification: Nature is depicted as a living entity that influences the speaker's journey.Juxtaposition: The contrasts between life and death highlight the harsh realities of existence.