On Becoming a Poet

What struck me most about Mark Strand's essay "On Becoming a Poet," along with the referenced poems "You, Andrew Marvell," and "To His Coy Mistress" was the discussion of the passage of time in all of them. As Strand put it, "'You, Andrew Marvell,' is about time and in time, about motion," while "To His Coy Mistress" is almost desperate in its attempts to convince the audience that time only can run forward. It seems that the entire disagreement between the two of them--as "You, Andrew Marvell" was a response written to "To His Coy Mistress"--is how to treat the concept of time, despite the mentions of the woman and all the places into the world. It is evident that both of them are remarkable powerful poems; Strand wrote in his essay that he admired "You, Andrew Marvell" tirelessly as an adolescent, wishing that he had written it, and that now he still admires it, wishing that he could write something like it.

As for me, I do like these poems upon better understanding them. When I first read them, their meanings were lost upon me, but upon a deeper explanation of each of them I have a much better appreciation for them. I love the truths of time written in both of them--the struggle to make sure it does not run out, as well as the evident freedom it provides. To lie face down beneath the sun and listen to the passage of time is to live life fully, yet frequently all I can think is that my time--in high school, as a child, as a dependent student--is slipping and that I can sympathize with Andrew Marvell in his rush to make the most of time. Both standpoints are valuable and deserve to be recognized.