'Dreaming Of Hair' by Li-Young Lee
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Ivy ties the cellar door
in autumn, in summer morning glory
wraps the ribs of a mouse.
Love binds me to the one
whose hair I've found in my mouth,
whose sleeping head I kiss,
wondering is it death?
beauty? this dark
star spreading in every direction from the crown of her head.
My love's hair is autumn hair, there
the sun ripens.
My fingers harvest the dark
vegtable of her body.
In the morning I remove it
from my tongue and
sleep again.
Hair spills
through my dream, sprouts
from my stomach, thickens my heart,
and tangles from the brain. Hair ties the tongue dumb.
Hair ascends the tree
of my childhood--the willow
I climbed
one bare foot and hand at a time,
feeling the knuckles of the gnarled tree, hearing
my father plead from his window, _Don't fall!_
In my dream I fly
past summers and moths,
to the thistle
caught in my mother's hair, the purple one
I touched and bled for,
to myself at three, sleeping
beside her, waking with her hair in my mouth.
Along a slippery twine of her black hair
my mother ties ko-tze knots for me:
fish and lion heads, chrysanthemum buds, the heads
of Chinamen, black-haired and frowning.
Li-En, my brother, frowns when he sleeps.
I push back his hair, stroke his brow.
His hairline is our father's, three peaks pointing down.
What sprouts from the body
and touches the body?
What filters sunlight
and drinks moonlight?
Where have I misplaced my heart?
What stops wheels and great machines?
What tangles in the bough
and snaps the loom?
Out of the grave
my father's hair
bursts. A strand
pierces my left sole, shoots
up bone, past ribs,
to the broken heart it stiches,
then down,
swirling in the stomach, in the groin, and down,
through the right foot.
What binds me to this earth?
What remembers the dead
and grows towards them?
I'm tired of thinking.
I long to taste the world with a kiss.
I long to fly into hair with kisses and weeping,
remembering an afternoon
when, kissing my sleeping father, I saw for the first time
behind the thick swirl of his black hair,
the mole of wisdom,
a lone planet spinning slowly.
Sometimes my love is melancholy
and I hold her head in my hands.
Sometimes I recall our hair grows after death.
Then, I must grab handfuls
of her hair, and, I tell you, there
are apples, walnuts, ships sailing, ships docking, and men
taking off their boots, their hearts breaking,
not knowing
which they love more, the water, or
their women's hair, sprouting from the head, rushing toward the feet.
Editor 1 Interpretation
Dreaming Of Hair by Li-Young Lee: A Close Reading
Li-Young Lee is a Chinese-American poet, born in Jakarta, Indonesia, who has received numerous awards for his poetry, including the American Book Award, the Lamont Poetry Prize, and the William Carlos Williams Award. His poems often explore themes of family, memory, and identity, and frequently employ vivid, sensory imagery. One of his most intriguing poems is "Dreaming Of Hair," published in his 1986 collection, "The City In Which I Love You."
The Poem
Dreaming Of Hair
Last night your hair was on my pillow, and now, as I awake, I find it everywhere, on my hands, in my face-- you are gone, but the hair remains as a kind of promise of something, something alive
underneath it all, you alive or once alive, hidden, lying there, waiting for me to find you, to answer to that part of you that desired this leaving.
But I can't find you. I look and look. I search the room, the bed, the air. I run my fingers through my own hair, yours everywhere, everywhere.
Analysis
"Dreaming Of Hair" is a poem about absence and presence, memory and desire, and the fragility of human connection. The poem opens with an image of the speaker waking up to find hair everywhere after dreaming about their beloved. The hair becomes a physical reminder of the person, a "promise" of their existence, even though they are no longer present. The hair is also described as "something alive / underneath it all," suggesting that the person themselves may be alive, or at least a part of them still lingers.
The second stanza introduces a note of ambiguity and uncertainty. The speaker wonders if the hair is a sign of their beloved's desire to leave, or if it is a clue to their whereabouts. The line "hidden, lying there, / waiting for me to find you" suggests that the speaker is searching for something beyond the physical presence of the hair, something that is both hidden and waiting to be discovered. This sense of searching is reinforced in the following lines, where the speaker describes their futile attempts to find their beloved: "But I can't find you. / I look and look. / I search the room, / the bed, the air."
The final lines of the poem are particularly striking in their use of repetition and imagery. The speaker runs their fingers through their own hair, feeling the presence of the absent other everywhere. The repetition of "everywhere" emphasizes the ubiquity of the beloved's absence, while also suggesting that they are still present in some way. The final image of the poem is both poignant and haunting: "yours everywhere, everywhere."
Interpretation
"Dreaming Of Hair" is a rich and enigmatic poem that defies easy interpretation. At its core, it is a poem about loss and longing, about the ways in which we try to hold onto the people we love even when they are no longer with us. The hair becomes a metaphor for the traces that people leave behind, the physical reminders of their existence that linger long after they are gone.
The poem can also be read as a meditation on memory and desire. The speaker's search for their beloved becomes a quest to reclaim something that has been lost, to bring back a person who has slipped away into memory. The hair becomes a talisman that connects the speaker to their beloved, even as it underscores their separation.
Finally, "Dreaming Of Hair" can be understood as a commentary on the fragility of human connection. The poem suggests that even the most intimate relationships are tenuous and prone to dissolution. The beloved's departure is a reminder that our connections to others are always subject to change, that even the most intense and powerful relationships are ultimately transitory.
Conclusion
In "Dreaming Of Hair," Li-Young Lee offers a haunting and beautifully crafted meditation on love, loss, and memory. The poem's spare and evocative language creates a sense of intimacy and immediacy, while also capturing the elusive nature of human connection. By exploring the themes of absence and presence, memory and desire, Lee invites readers to reflect on the ways in which we hold onto the people we love, even as we recognize that they are slipping away. Ultimately, "Dreaming Of Hair" is a testament to the power of poetry to capture the complexities of human experience, and to offer us insights into the mysteries of love and longing.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
Dreaming of Hair: A Poem that Speaks to the Soul
Li-Young Lee's poem "Dreaming of Hair" is a masterpiece that captures the essence of human longing and the power of memory. The poem is a reflection on the speaker's childhood memories of his mother combing his hair, and how those memories have stayed with him throughout his life. In this analysis, we will explore the themes of memory, identity, and the power of the past in shaping our present.
The poem begins with the speaker dreaming of his mother combing his hair. The dream is vivid and powerful, and the speaker is transported back to his childhood. He remembers the feel of his mother's fingers in his hair, the sound of the comb, and the smell of her perfume. These memories are so strong that they feel like a physical presence in the room with him. The speaker is overwhelmed by the intensity of his emotions, and he begins to weep.
The first stanza of the poem sets the tone for the rest of the piece. It is a nostalgic and wistful reflection on the past, and it establishes the theme of memory that runs throughout the poem. The speaker is not just remembering his mother combing his hair; he is reliving the experience. He is transported back in time, and he feels the same emotions that he felt as a child. This is the power of memory, and it is a theme that Li-Young Lee explores in depth throughout the poem.
The second stanza of the poem shifts the focus from memory to identity. The speaker reflects on the fact that his hair is no longer the same as it was when he was a child. He has lost some of it, and what remains is gray. This is a reminder that time has passed, and that the speaker is no longer the same person that he was when his mother used to comb his hair. He is older now, and he has experienced many things that have shaped his identity.
The third stanza of the poem is a meditation on the power of the past to shape our present. The speaker reflects on the fact that his memories of his mother combing his hair have stayed with him throughout his life. They have become a part of who he is, and they continue to influence his thoughts and emotions. This is a reminder that our past experiences are always with us, and that they continue to shape us even as we move forward in life.
The fourth stanza of the poem is a reflection on the nature of memory itself. The speaker notes that memories are not fixed or static; they are constantly changing and evolving. This is a reminder that our memories are not objective records of the past; they are subjective experiences that are shaped by our emotions and our perceptions. This is why the speaker's memories of his mother combing his hair are so vivid and powerful; they are not just a record of what happened, but a reflection of how he felt at the time.
The final stanza of the poem is a reflection on the power of memory to connect us to others. The speaker notes that his memories of his mother combing his hair are not just about him; they are also about his mother. They are a reminder of the love and affection that she had for him, and of the bond that they shared. This is a reminder that our memories are not just about ourselves; they are also about the people and the experiences that we have shared with others.
In conclusion, "Dreaming of Hair" is a powerful and evocative poem that speaks to the soul. It is a meditation on memory, identity, and the power of the past to shape our present. Li-Young Lee's use of vivid imagery and powerful language creates a sense of nostalgia and longing that is both universal and deeply personal. This is a poem that will resonate with anyone who has ever been transported back in time by a memory, and who has felt the power of the past to shape their present.
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