countdown to white meridian - reflection
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countdown to white meridian - reflection
“countdown to white meridian” explores themes of memory, perception, and anticipation. The speaker appears to be recalling a past experience at a campsite, where they are surrounded by a winter landscape and haunted by strange visions and sounds. The poem's structure is built around a countdown - a sense of impending importance, or some kind of climactic moment.
The first stanza sets the scene with a clear image of a winter twilight on a lake, while the second stanza introduces the idea of a "countdown" and a "great planetary" made of "enormous wooden gears." This creates a sense of mechanical precision and inevitability, as if the speaker is witnessing some kind of cosmic machinery that is beyond their control. The phrase "cradle of the west" adds a mythic dimension to this scene, evoking the idea of a powerful force that has shaped human history.
In the third stanza, the focus shifts to a theater, where there is "ghostlight" and "antic shapes burned into concrete." The speaker is experiencing a kind of hallucination or dream, as they hear singing in an "unknown tongue" and see "liquid eyes." The use of the word "scintilla" adds mystery or elusiveness to the image, as if trying to grasp something just out of reach.
The final stanza brings the poem to its title, as the speaker pulls out a "salvaged word" and connects "visuals to tactiles." The word "meridian" suggests a sense of crossing a threshold or reaching a turning point, while the phrase "waiting for the wolves" adds an element of danger and uncertainty. The poem ends ambiguously, leaving the reader to speculate on what kind of transformation or revelation the speaker is anticipating.
