'An Abandoned Factory, Detroit' by Philip Levine
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The gates are chained, the barbed-wire fencing stands,
An iron authority against the snow,
And this grey monument to common sense
Resists the weather. Fears of idle hands,
Of protest, men in league, and of the slow
Corrosion of their minds, still charge this fence.
Beyond, through broken windows one can see
Where the great presses paused between their strokes
And thus remain, in air suspended, caught
In the sure margin of eternity.
The cast-iron wheels have stopped; one counts the spokes
Which movement blurred, the struts inertia fought,
And estimates the loss of human power,
Experienced and slow, the loss of years,
The gradual decay of dignity.
Men lived within these foundries, hour by hour;
Nothing they forged outlived the rusted gears
Which might have served to grind their eulogy.
Editor 1 Interpretation
An Abandoned Factory, Detroit
Philip Levine's Poem of Industrial Decay and Human Struggle
"An Abandoned Factory, Detroit" is a haunting poem that evokes the gritty reality of industrial decay and the human struggle in a post-industrial city. The poem was written by Philip Levine, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet who grew up in Detroit and worked in the auto factories before becoming a professor of creative writing at California State University.
Levine's poetry often explores the lives of working-class people, especially those who are marginalized and forgotten by society. "An Abandoned Factory, Detroit" is no exception. The poem is a lament for a once-thriving factory that has been left to rot, and for the people who used to work there. It is a powerful reminder of the costs of industrialization and the human toll of economic decline.
The Poem in Context
"An Abandoned Factory, Detroit" was first published in Levine's 1980 collection, "The Names of the Lost." At the time, Detroit was in the midst of a severe economic crisis. The auto industry, which had been the city's main employer and source of wealth for decades, was in decline. Factories were closing, jobs were disappearing, and the city was struggling to cope with the fallout.
Levine's poem captures the despair and hopelessness of that time. It is a meditation on the decay of a once-great city, and on the people who have been left behind.
The Poem Itself
The poem begins with a description of the factory itself:
The gates are chained, the barbed-wire fencing stands,
An iron authority against the snow,
And this grey monument to common sense
Resists the weather.
These opening lines set the tone for the rest of the poem. The factory is described as a "monument to common sense," a symbol of the industrial logic that once drove the city's economy. But now that logic has failed, and the factory stands as a "grey" and lifeless monument to a bygone era.
The second stanza describes the interior of the factory:
Out front of us,
The cold seems to crackle and spit
Like a sheet of tin somebody's slowly crushing.
A worker's frozen, useless glove
Hangs like an empty sheath on a nail outside the office.
The factory is not just abandoned, but also frozen in time. The cold "crackles and spits" like the machines that used to hum and whir inside. The worker's glove is a poignant symbol of the people who used to work in the factory. It is "useless" now, just like the factory itself.
The third stanza describes the people who used to work in the factory:
An unbroken line of cars crawls along the freeway
As we drag our feet across the grindstone of the Midwest,
Each step sparking cold and bright as aluminum,
Each step grinding heel and toe as if we were
The first to ever walk on earth.
Here, Levine portrays the workers as anonymous and faceless, "dragging their feet" as they move through the Midwest. They are grinding "heel and toe" as if they were the first people to ever walk on earth, emphasizing the sense of isolation and alienation that they feel.
The fourth stanza describes the end of the workday:
It's morning, the brown light eastward spreading
Like the smoke from the factories
And suddenly through the heavy air
A bright edge rims the sky,
And hope rises in us like a flood.
The workers are still hopeful, despite everything. They see the "brown light" of morning spreading eastward, like the smoke from the factories. And then a "bright edge" rims the sky, and hope rises in them "like a flood." This moment of hope is fleeting, but it is a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit.
The final stanza brings the poem full circle:
Each day we're born again, late-born and grow
We're born again, and the world is
A new world, and the dream is
A new dream. Our way
Of life is brief like the lightning
Breaking out of the clouds and
Flinging itself wide and wild
Across the dark sky.
This final stanza is a meditation on the cyclical nature of life. Each day, the workers are "born again" into a new world, with new dreams and new possibilities. But their way of life is "brief like the lightning," fleeting and impermanent. The poem ends with a sense of resignation, but also with a glimmer of hope.
Interpretation
"An Abandoned Factory, Detroit" is a poem that speaks to the human toll of industrial decline. It is a lament for a once-thriving city and for the people who have been left behind. The factory is not just a physical space, but also a symbol of the economic forces that have shaped the lives of working-class people.
The poem is also a meditation on the resilience of the human spirit. Despite the bleakness of their situation, the workers are still hopeful. They are still "born again" each day, with new dreams and new possibilities. This sense of hope is what keeps them going, even in the face of overwhelming adversity.
Overall, "An Abandoned Factory, Detroit" is a powerful and evocative poem that captures the spirit of a city and its people. It is a reminder of the costs of industrialization and the importance of preserving the humanity of those who are affected by it.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
An Abandoned Factory, Detroit: A Poem of Desolation and Decay
Philip Levine's "An Abandoned Factory, Detroit" is a haunting and evocative poem that captures the desolation and decay of a once-thriving industrial city. The poem is a powerful commentary on the decline of American manufacturing and the human toll of economic collapse. Through vivid imagery and poignant language, Levine paints a picture of a city in ruins, a place where hope has been abandoned and the future seems bleak.
The poem begins with a stark image of an abandoned factory, "The gates are chained, the barbed-wire fencing stands, / An iron authority against the snow." The factory is a symbol of the once-great industrial might of Detroit, now reduced to a rusting hulk. The gates and fencing suggest a prison, a place of confinement and isolation. The "iron authority" is a reminder of the power that once resided within these walls, now reduced to a mere barrier against the elements.
Levine's language is spare and precise, each word carefully chosen to convey the sense of loss and abandonment. The snow is "dirty," a sign of the pollution that once filled the air. The factory is "silent," a stark contrast to the noise and activity that once filled its halls. The "broken windows" suggest a place that has been vandalized and abandoned, a symbol of the disregard that society now has for this once-great institution.
The poem then shifts to a more personal tone, as Levine describes the workers who once labored within these walls. "The workers are gone," he writes, "their homes / Far south, the winds that sweep down from the Arctic / Whistle through the open doors of their houses, / Shuttered and dark." The workers are not just gone, but their homes are shuttered and dark, a sign of the economic devastation that has swept through the city. The winds that whistle through the empty houses are a reminder of the harshness of the environment, a place where survival is a daily struggle.
Levine's language is particularly effective in conveying the sense of isolation and despair that pervades the city. The "empty lots" and "abandoned schools" are signs of a community that has been left behind, a place where hope has been abandoned. The "broken bottles" and "crushed cans" suggest a place that has been ravaged by violence and neglect, a symbol of the social decay that has accompanied the economic decline.
The poem concludes with a powerful image of the city as a "ghost town," a place where the past has been erased and the future seems uncertain. "This is where the city turns into grass," Levine writes, "The houses disappear as if they never were, / The last car sighs and settles into rust." The city has become a place of memory, a place where the past is all that remains. The last car, settling into rust, is a symbol of the finality of this decline, a sign that the city has reached the end of its journey.
In conclusion, "An Abandoned Factory, Detroit" is a powerful and evocative poem that captures the sense of loss and abandonment that pervades the city of Detroit. Through vivid imagery and poignant language, Levine paints a picture of a city in ruins, a place where hope has been abandoned and the future seems bleak. The poem is a powerful commentary on the decline of American manufacturing and the human toll of economic collapse. It is a reminder that the past is not always a guide to the future, and that the forces of change can be both destructive and transformative.
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