19 pages • 38 minutes read

Blessing the Boats

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2000

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Themes

Transition

The central metaphor of the poem is the boat, ordinarily a vessel for taking people across water. Those familiar with Clifton’s biography, or reading the poem in the context of its original collection, might perceive this as a metaphor for her transition into older age, dealing with illness, and facing medical treatment for breast cancer. However the metaphor is more applicable to all people facing transitions. Although the speaker never specifies what kind of journey she is on, where the boat is taking her, it is clear that the boat is in motion. The poem puts the emphasis on the importance of the journey itself and not the destination. The speaker is writing about the type of journey about which the outcome is not certain. The final line of the poem in which the speaker wishes that “you” are able to sail “through this to that” (Line 13) leaves the change open to interpretation. She doesn’t say move from bad to good, or weakness to strength; “this” and “that” are emotionally equal. Her word choice suggests that the speaker is leaving room for the possibility that the desired outcome of the transition may be different from the result. She may even be suggesting that the outcomes themselves are unimportant relative to the act of transitioning. This can do a lot to take the wind out of the sails of a fear of change.

Danger and Uncertainty

Crossing water by boat is a dangerous undertaking; many things can go wrong that might result in a fatality. A safe crossing requires good weather and amiable sailing conditions, but nobody can control the elements of wind, water, or weather. The boat metaphor signifies how dangerous any transition can be, and how out of control people might feel during periods of change. It emphasizes how small and vulnerable human beings are in relation to the largeness and unpredictability of nature.

This metaphor also applies to the uncertainty of a serious medical condition. Whereas cancer is small and invisible, its power is as immense as the ocean. Its importance in one’s life journey is as paramount as the wind. Clifton had already witnessed her husband Fred die of cancer when he was only 49, so she would have been intimately aware of the precarious position she was in.

Faith

The speaker of the poem, instead of focusing on danger or fear, emphasizes her faith. By personifying elements of wind and water she is able to create a sense that she has some measure of control and that the natural forces are themselves friendly. Whereas in reality water and wind do not have awareness and might destroy a boat without conscious intention, a personified wind and water seem less frightening. If they are more like people, they might express kindness and love. Only personified nature would care if a person trying to cross the water was “innocent.”

By referencing a living spirit of wind and water Clifton is also making use of ancient religious traditions. Believing that the elements are conscious and will protect people is an example of faith. Earlier people without advanced technology to predict or respond to fluctuations in weather needed to rely on faith to make them brave enough to undertake such voyages.

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Wind and water are also much larger than the speaker and larger than the boats themselves. The personification are stand-ins for a more general concept of God. Whether one ascribes to Christianity or Animism (the belief that all elements are conscious), the personification of these elements suggests a force bigger than humans that may govern their fate. In “blessing the boats” Clifton posits a benevolent force that will help the speaker move “beyond the face of fear” (Line 5) and transition “through this to that” (Line 13).