April 27, 2005: Dream Song 1, John Berryman
Dream Song 1
John Berryman
Huffy Henry hid the day,
unappeasable Henry sulked.
I see his point,—a trying to put things over.
It was the thought that they thought
they could do it made Henry wicked & away.
But he should have come out and talked.
All the world like a woolen lover
once did seem on Henry’s side.
Then came a departure.
Thereafter nothing fell out as it might or ought.
I don’t see how Henry, pried
open for all the world to see, survived.
What he has now to say is a long
wonder the world can bear & be.
Once in a sycamore I was glad
all at the top, and I sang.
Hard on the land wears the strong sea
and empty grows every bed.
[The basic facts you need to know about the Dream Songs: Berryman
invented the sonnet-like poems, spoken by two alter egos, Henry
(roughly correlated to himself) and Mr. Bones, a parodic character in
blackface from a minstrel show, who provides an external voice of
commentary and advice.
Many of the Dream Songs deal with the death of Berryman’s father,
who commited suicide when Berryman was a child, in
front of him, according to some accounts. A lot of the poems are about
his reactions to this, as well as his struggle with his own
depression, but along the way they address pretty much everything else
imaginable: sex, politics, religion, contemporary poets, etc, and they
have the ability to be extremely funny and profoundly affecting. They
definitely require some getting used to, but I think it’s very much
worth it.
It was nearly impossible to choose just one to post, so I
finally went with the first one, a kind of introduction. Berryman
pokes fun at his own gloominess, contrasts former happiness with
present grief, and alludes to his father’s suicide in roundabout
terms: “Then came a departure.” But the weird syntax is really what
makes these poems special — playful and complicated and unique. Play
around with it.
I’ve linked a bunch more below if you’re interested in reading more.
They can be really different, so even if you don’t like this one, you
might like one of these. The last two are my favorites.]
Dream Song 14: Life, friends, is boring [ennui!]
Dream Song 22: Of 1826 [American society]
Dream Song 29: There sat down, once, a thing [depression & violent
fantasies]
Dream Song 40: I’m scared a lonely. Never see my son [Mr. Bones
speaks]
Dream Song 55: Peter’s not friendly. He gives me sideways looks [an
interview at the pearly gates]
Dream Song 69: Love her he doesn’t but the thought he puts [sex]
*Dream Song 145: Also I love him: me he’s done no wrong [father]
*Dream Song 385: My daughter’s heavier. Light leaves are flying. [the
last Dream Song]
