A Grave[1]
Marrian Moore
Man looking into the sea,
taking the view from those who have as much right to it as
you have to it yourself,[2]
it is human nature to stand in the middle of a thing,[3]
but you cannot stand in the middle of this;[4]
the sea has nothing to give but a well excavated[5] grave.
The firs[6] stand in a procession, each with an emerald turkey—
foot at the top,[7]
reserved as their contours, saying nothing;[8]
repression, however, is not the most obvious characteristic of
the sea;[9]
the sea is a collector[10], quick to return a rapacious look.[11]
There are others besides you who have worn that look—
whose expression is no longer a protest[12]; the fish no longer
investigate them
for their bones have not lasted[13]:
men lower nets, unconscious of the fact that they are
desecrating[14] a grave[15],
and row quickly away-the blades of the oars
moving together like the feet of water-spiders[16] as if there were
no such thing as death.[17]
The wrinkles progress among themselves in a phalanx[18]—
beautiful under networks of foam[19],
and fade breathlessly[20] while the sea rustles in and out of the
seaweed[21];
the birds swim through the air at top speed, emitting cat-calls
as heretofore[22]—
the tortoise-shell scourges about the feet of the cliffs, in motion
beneath them[23];
and the ocean[24], under the pulsation of lighthouses[25] and noise of
bell-bouys[26],
advances as usual[27], looking as if it were not that ocean in which
dropped things are bound to sink—
in which if they turn and twist, it is neither with volition nor
consciousness [28]
FOOTNOTES
[1] The title is stated by an indefinite article probably to highlight the main idea of the poem; that the sea is “A Grave”, not the grave, since the people are unaware of the repressive and fatal potentiality of the sea or even if they are aware they cannot help fishing in it.
[2] A man is looking into the sea. He is standing between the sea and other men, depriving them of the view, though the men seem to have as much right to watch the sea.
[3] As the man is withholding the view of the sea from the other spectators, the speaker indicates that it is in human nature to be selfish. This egotism of human is later referred to as rapaciousness and greediness. (See 11)
[4] The sea is much more powerful and dominant than to let some one stand against it or resist it, no matter how much selfish the nature of man is. This line reinforces a foreshadowing to a hostile, antagonistic sea which is later pictured more explicitly in the poem.
[5] digged up. That the sea has nothing to suggest “but a well excavated grave” is another reference to the sea being brutish and merciless.
[6] It is a tree with leaves shaped like needles that do not fall off in winter.
[7] The fir tree can also be taken as a metonymy for the hard fruit of the fir tree. Metaphorically, it stands for the foamy crests of the sea waves which go after one another successively.
[8] The firs are retiring like their outline being reticent.
[9] Repression and tyranny of the sea are not very obvious to notice at the first sight.
[10] Later we see that the sea is a collector of human bodies unlike its apparent characteristic.
[11] The rapacious look of fishermen for they are greedy for fish.
[12] There are many other greedy fishermen who are reserved with no bent to protest.
[13] The fish no longer examine these fishermen; because, having been drowned in the sea, their bones have already decayed. The bodies of fishermen have been buried at the bottom of the sea. So, they no longer catch the fish’s eyes.
[14] Spoiling or damaging something holy or respected.
[15] Other fishermen still spread their net onto the sea voraciously regardless of the fact that they are intruding a grave.
[16] The fishermen’s boats with the oars moving together conjure up an image of water spiders. Their net also pictures spiders’ webs.
[17]. The fishermen are so ignorantly rowing in the hideous sea as if there were no single possibility of them dying in the sea. This manner of fishermen probably stems from greediness and self-centeredness of human nature.
[18]. a large group of people or things standing close together so that it is difficult to go through them.
[19]. The mass of wrinkles on the sea water progressing as the oars are moving resembles a network of froth. This network made of the wrinkles suggests the idea of hunters being hunted by the sea.
[20]. The wrinkles “fade breathlessly” as they progress downward into the sea. Sinking and finally drowning breathlessly reinforces the state of the sea being a collector or a grave.
[21]. The waves and also the men sink to the bottom of the sea where the seaweeds are rubbing the decayed bones of the sunken men producing a rustling sound.
[22]. There out of the sea the birds bathe in the air producing a shrilling sound as they see the men sinking into the water.
[23]. The tortoise shell in motion with the sea wave hits the cliffs like a whip.
[24]. That the sea, here, has turned into an ocean emphasizes its supreme power and dominance reminding us of it being a suppressive grave.
[25]. “pulsation of lighthouses” might refer to the regular turning of the lighthouses.
[26]. an object that floats on the sea
[27]. The ocean goes ahead devouring men regardless of the birds shrieking, the tortoise shells whipping the cliffs, the lighthouses pulsing, and the bell buoys floating onto the sea.
[28]. The dropped things are doomed to sink in the ocean and the men turn and twist unconsciously and unwillingly because they are condemned to do so.
Zohreh Exiri