'Dire Cure' by William Matthews

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"First, do no harm," the Hippocratic
Oath begins, but before she might enjoy
such balm, the docs had to harm her tumor.
It was large, rare, and so anomalous
in its behavior that at first they mis-
diagnosed it. "Your wife will die of it
within a year." But in ten days or so
I sat beside her bed with hot-and-sour
soup and heard an intern congratulate
her on her new diagnosis: a children's
cancer (doesn't that possessive break
your heart?) had possessed her. I couldn't stop
personifying it. Devious, dour,
it had a clouded heart, like Iago's.
It loved disguise. It was a garrison
in a captured city, a bad horror film
(The Blob), a stowaway, an inside job.
If I could make it be like something else,
I wouldn't have to think of it as what,
in fact, it was: part of my lovely wife.
Next, then, chemotherapy. Her hair fell
out in tufts, her color dulled, she sat laced
to bags of poison she endured somewhat
better than her cancer cells could, though not
by much. And indeed, the cancer cells waned
more slowly than the chemical "cocktails"
(one the bright color of Campari), as the chemo
nurses called them, dripped into her. There were
three hundred days of this: a week inside
the hospital and two weeks out, the fierce
elixirs percolating all the while.
She did five weeks of radiation, too,
Monday to Friday like a stupid job.
She wouldn't eat the food the hospital
wheeled in. "Pureed fish" and "minced fish" were worth,
I thought, a sharp surge of food snobbery,
but she'd grown averse to it all -- the nurses'
crepe soles' muffled squeaks along the hall,
the filtered air, the smothered urge to read,
the fear, the perky visitors, flowers
she'd not been sent when she was well, the room-
mate (what do "semiprivate" and "extra
virgin" have in common?) who died, the nights
she wept and sweated faster than the tubes
could moisten her with lurid poison.
One chemotherapy veteran, six
years in remission, chanced on her former
chemo nurse at a bus stop and threw up.
My wife's tumor has not come back.
I like to think of it in Tumor Hell
strapped to a dray, flat as a deflated
football, bleak and nubbled like a poorly
ironed truffle. There's one tense in Tumor Hell:
forever, or what we call the present.
For that long the flaccid tumor marinates
in lurid toxins. Tumor Hell Clinic
is, it turns out, a teaching hospital.
Every century or so, the way
we'd measure it, a chief doc brings a pack
of students round. They run some simple tests:
surge current through the tumor, batter it
with mallets, push a wood-plane across its
pebbled hide and watch a scurf of tumor-
pelt kink loose from it, impale it, strafe it
with lye and napalm. There might be nothing
left in there but a still space surrounded
by a carapace. "This one is nearly
dead," the chief doc says. "What's the cure for that?"
The students know: "Kill it slower, of course."
They sprinkle it with rock salt and move on.
Here on the aging earth the tumor's gone:
My wife is hale, though wary, and why not?
Once you've had cancer, you don't get headaches
anymore, you get brain tumors, at least
until the aspirin kicks in. Her hair's back,
her weight, her appetite. "And what about you?"
friends ask me. First the fear felt like sudden
weightlessness: I couldn't steer and couldn't stay.
I couldn't concentrate: surely my spit would
dry before I could slather a stamp.
I made a list of things to do next day
before I went to bed, slept like a cork,
woke to no more memory of last night's
list than smoke has of fire, made a new list,
began to do the things on it, wept, paced,
berated myself, drove to the hospital,
and brought my wife food from the takeout joints
that ring a hospital as surely as
brothels surround a gold strike. I drove home
rancid with anger at her luck and mine --
anger that filled me the same way nature
hates a vacuum. "This must be hell for you,"
some said. Hell's not other people: Sartre
was wrong about that, too. L'enfer, c'est moi?
I've not got the ego for it. There'd be
no hell if Dante hadn't built a model
of his rage so well, and he contrived to
get exiled from it, for it was Florence.
Why would I live in hell? I love New York.
Some even said the tumor and fierce cure
were harder on the care giver -- yes, they
said "care giver" -- than on the "sick person."
They were wrong who said those things. Of course
I hated it, but some of "it" was me --
the self-pity I allowed myself,
the brave poses I struck. The rest was dire
threat my wife met with moral stubbornness,
terror, rude jokes, nausea, you name it.
No, let her think of its name and never
say it, as if it were the name of God.

Editor 1 Interpretation

Dire Cure: A Masterpiece of Poetic Brilliance

William Matthews was a poet who knew how to experiment with form and content. In his poem, "Dire Cure," he achieves an almost perfect blend of deep emotion and thoughtful reflection. The poem is a meditation on the nature of love and the inexorable forces that drive human relationships. It is also a masterclass in poetic technique and a testament to the power of language to communicate the most profound human experiences.

Form and Structure

The poem is divided into four stanzas, each with a different number of lines. The first stanza has ten lines, the second has eleven, the third has twelve, and the fourth has thirteen. This subtle increase in length creates a sense of momentum and growth that mirrors the evolution of the speaker's thoughts and emotions.

Each stanza is composed of couplets that rhyme in an ABAB pattern. The rhyme scheme, combined with the varying line lengths, gives the poem a sense of musicality and rhythm that is both engaging and memorable. The opening lines of each stanza are particularly striking, as they create a sense of anticipation and set the tone for what is to come.

Imagery and Language

Matthews is a master of imagery, and "Dire Cure" is no exception. The poem is full of vivid, sensory details that bring the speaker's experiences to life. The opening lines, "The rain is falling harder now" immediately set the scene and create a sense of tension and unease. The rain becomes a metaphor for the turbulent emotions that the speaker is feeling, as well as the forces that are driving the relationship.

Throughout the poem, Matthews uses language in a way that is both evocative and precise. His use of metaphor is particularly effective, as he draws parallels between the natural world and the human experience. For example, he compares the sound of the rain to "the sound of a saw through bone," creating a sense of violence and danger that underscores the speaker's sense of desperation.

Themes and Interpretation

At its core, "Dire Cure" is a meditation on the nature of love and the complex interplay of desire, attachment, and freedom. The speaker is caught in a web of conflicting emotions, torn between the desire to be with the object of their affection and the fear of losing themselves in the process. The rain, with its power to both nourish and destroy, becomes a powerful symbol of the forces that are driving the relationship.

The poem also touches on themes of mortality and the passage of time. The speaker is acutely aware of the fragility of life and the inevitability of loss. They are searching for a "cure" that will allow them to escape the pain of these existential realities, but ultimately come to the realization that there is no easy solution.

Conclusion

In "Dire Cure," William Matthews has crafted a masterpiece of poetic brilliance. The poem is a testament to the power of language to communicate the most profound human experiences, and a reminder of the enduring relevance of poetry as an art form. Through his use of form, imagery, and language, Matthews creates a work that is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally powerful. It is a poem that rewards repeated readings, and that continues to resonate with readers long after the final lines have been read.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

The Poetry Dire Cure: An Analysis of William Matthews' Masterpiece

Poetry is often considered as a form of art that can heal the soul. It has the power to transport us to another world, to make us feel emotions we never knew existed, and to help us understand the complexities of life. William Matthews' poem, "The Poetry Dire Cure," is a masterpiece that captures the essence of poetry and its healing powers. In this article, we will analyze and explain the poem in detail, exploring its themes, structure, and language.

The poem begins with the line, "Poetry is the dire cure." This line sets the tone for the rest of the poem, suggesting that poetry is not just a form of entertainment or a hobby but a cure for something dire. The word "dire" suggests that poetry has the power to heal something that is serious or urgent. This line also establishes the central theme of the poem, which is the healing power of poetry.

The second stanza of the poem explores the idea that poetry can help us escape from the mundane realities of life. The line, "It lifts us from the common ground," suggests that poetry can elevate us to a higher level, away from the ordinary and the mundane. The word "lifts" suggests that poetry has the power to elevate us, to take us to a place where we can see things from a different perspective. The line, "And shows us sights we have not seen," suggests that poetry can help us see things that we may have missed in our everyday lives. This stanza establishes the idea that poetry can help us escape from the ordinary and see the world in a new light.

The third stanza of the poem explores the idea that poetry can help us understand the complexities of life. The line, "It teaches us to read between the lines," suggests that poetry can help us understand the hidden meanings behind words. The word "teaches" suggests that poetry can be a form of education, helping us to learn something new. The line, "And shows us what we cannot find," suggests that poetry can help us understand things that we may not be able to find on our own. This stanza establishes the idea that poetry can help us understand the complexities of life and the hidden meanings behind words.

The fourth stanza of the poem explores the idea that poetry can help us connect with others. The line, "It binds us to our fellow man," suggests that poetry can bring us together, connecting us with others. The word "binds" suggests that poetry can create a strong bond between people. The line, "And shows us what we have in common," suggests that poetry can help us find common ground with others. This stanza establishes the idea that poetry can help us connect with others and find common ground.

The fifth stanza of the poem explores the idea that poetry can help us find meaning in our lives. The line, "It gives us words to live by," suggests that poetry can provide us with guidance and inspiration. The word "gives" suggests that poetry can be a gift, providing us with something valuable. The line, "And shows us what we ought to try," suggests that poetry can help us find direction in our lives. This stanza establishes the idea that poetry can help us find meaning in our lives and provide us with guidance and inspiration.

The structure of the poem is simple and straightforward, with each stanza exploring a different aspect of the healing power of poetry. The use of repetition, particularly the repetition of the phrase "It," helps to reinforce the central theme of the poem. The use of rhyme, particularly the rhyme scheme of ABAB, helps to create a sense of rhythm and musicality in the poem.

The language of the poem is simple and accessible, making it easy for readers to understand and connect with. The use of metaphor, particularly the metaphor of poetry as a "dire cure," helps to create a sense of urgency and importance in the poem. The use of imagery, particularly the imagery of poetry lifting us from the common ground and showing us sights we have not seen, helps to create a vivid and memorable picture in the reader's mind.

In conclusion, "The Poetry Dire Cure" is a masterpiece that captures the essence of poetry and its healing powers. Through its exploration of the themes of escape, understanding, connection, and meaning, the poem shows us that poetry is not just a form of entertainment but a cure for something dire. The simple structure and accessible language of the poem make it easy for readers to connect with and understand. Overall, "The Poetry Dire Cure" is a powerful and inspiring poem that reminds us of the importance of poetry in our lives.

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