Rodriguez 1
Ruben Rodriguez
Dr. Grant
English 102
Spring, 2010
Poetry: A Mirror Giving a Glimpse Into the Soul
Poetry has the capacity to reflect the wounds of the writer on the page like a
mirror giving a glimpse into the soul. Poets have understood this concept throughout
history, and their words have reflected their deepest insights and thoughts on some of the
most personal and painful of subjects. Some of the greatest examples of this are the
poems speaking of lost love. Through the journey of life relationships will grow and
possibly consume the lives of the individuals involved, and when that relationship
flounders and disintegrates into the past, the pain can be difficult to handle without an
escape or means of expressing this newfound hopelessness. Both the singer/songwriter
Eddie Vedder (December 23, 1964 – Present) of the band Pearl Jam and the poet Pablo
Neruda (July 12, 1904 – September 23, 1973) express this struggle with resounding
excellence throughout their writing. Although they were born of completely different
generations and areas of the world each writer expresses the common notion of lost love
elegantly and with honesty, showcasing that the power of healing through poetry is truly
universal.
Eddie Vedder deals with lost love in his song “Black” as a form of abandonment.
There is a consistent urge throughout the song to return to the past as opposed to the
reality in which his partner has moved on from him. When describing an empty canvas
Vedder expresses that the canvas was “laid out spread before me, as her body once did”
Rodriguez 2
in order to evoke the very memory of his lost loves presence through familiar items. The
inclination to view the break-up as a form of abandonment reflects greatly the profound
effect his parents’ divorce must have had on his childhood. Vedder grew up in Evanston,
Illinois and at age 1 his parents got a divorce, however his mother soon began a
relationship with someone else and Vedder grew up believing that this man was his
biological father. Vedder did not find out the truth about his step-father until the man
divorced his mother when Vedder was in his late teens. This realization must have had a
profound effect on Vedder’s views of relationships, for his entire young life he believed
this man to be his real father and only after leaving his mother did he discover the truth.
The song “Black” represents this continued sense of abandonment perfectly.
Vedder uses hyperbole and dark imagery to describe the effect the loss of his love has
had on his life. He expresses that “All the pictures had/ all been washed in black,
tattooed everything/ All the love gone bad, turned my world to black/ tattooed all I see,
all I am, all I’ll be” in order to explain the feeling that his life is no longer the same and
her memory remains everywhere. The song continues to evoke desperation and despair,
and it is very obvious that Vedder is pouring his heart onto the page in an attempt to cope
with a loss he finds terribly difficult to bear. Although the song can easily be viewed as a
man wallowing in his own self-pity, it’s obvious that there is a history of pain that has
been projected onto this lost love, and hopefully through the reflection showcased within
the song, he has been able to discover his own self-worth despite the loss of others.
Pablo Neruda writes elegantly of a lost love in a far more defiant albeit still
solemn manner. It’s clear that Neruda understands perseverance, as his own father
looked down upon his career choice and insisted that Neruda pick a safer career such as
Rodriguez 3
teaching instead. This defiance is showcased in his poem “Tonight I can write…” as
Neruda expresses deep pain and sorrow over the loss of his love, however he remains
clear and capable of moving forward. The poem itself is absolutely beautiful, and Neruda
uses simple words and phrases to express deep and truly meaningful concepts. Neruda
uses a lot of literal language throughout the piece in describing his love, such as when he
explains “Through nights like this one I held her in my arms. I kissed her again and
again under the endless sky.” These lines are in stark contrast to the downtrodden
imagery used throughout the song “Black” however the message hits in an equally deep
fashion. Neruda counterbalances these literal phrases with intriguing simile such as “…
the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture” and figurative language “the night is
shattered and she is not with me.”
The direct similarities to Eddie Vedder’s song “Black” are clear as both pieces
deal with loss in a concise and clear manner, however Pablo Neruda chooses to end his
poem in defiance as opposed to sorrow. Vedder’s piece ends with the question “I know
you’ll be a star in somebody else’s sky/ But why, why, why can’t it be, why can’t it be
mine?” and this is in stark contrast to Neruda’s end to the poem in which he states
defiantly “Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer and these the last verses
that I write for her.” However despite these differences both poems capture the essence
of loss with elegance and beauty.
With poetry all of the rampant seemingly chaotic thoughts that cloud the minds of
those in pain can finally be placed down in an organized and controllable fashion. Poetry
is the therapy for the ages and the truth amongst every soul yearning for a connection to
the divine. As love is lost and pain is endured the power of words will and have always
Rodriguez 4
enveloped those willing to place pen to paper. Despite Pablo Neruda and Eddie Vedder
being of such different generations and lifestyles, their willing embrace of the beauty of
poetry connects them and creates a whole in places of seeming emptiness.
Works Cited
"Eddie Vedder." 2010. Biography.com. 3 Jun 2010,
http://www.biography.com/articles/Eddie-Vedder-9542540.
“Eddie Vedder.” 2010. Tvguide.com. 3 Jun 2010,
http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/eddie-vedder/bio/284135.
"Pablo Neruda." 2010. Biography.com. 3 Jun 2010,
http://www.biography.com/articles/Pablo-Neruda-9421737.
Rodriguez 5
Black by Pearl Jam
Sheets of empty canvas, untouched sheets of clay
Were laid out spread before me, as her body once did
All five horizons revolved around her soul, as the Earth to the Sun
Now the air I’ve tasted and breathed has taken a turn
Ooh, and all I taught her was everything
Ooh, I know she gave me all that she wore
And now my bitter hands shake beneath the clouds
Of what was everything
All the pictures had
All been washed in black, tattooed everything
I take a walk outside, I’m surrounded by some kids at play
I can feel their laughter, so why do I sear?
And twisted thoughts that spin round my head
I’m spinning, oh, I’m spinning
Rodriguez 6
How quick the sun can drop away
And now my bitter hands cradle broken glass
Of what was everything
All the pictures had
All been washed in black, tattooed everything
All the love gone bad, turned my world to black
Tattooed all I see, all I am, all I’ll be, yeah
I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life
I know you’ll be a star in somebody else’s sky
But why, why, why can’t it be, why can’t it be mine?
Tonight I can write… By Pablo Neruda
Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
Write, for example, “The night is shattered
and the blue stars shiver in the distance.”
The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.
Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
Rodriguez 7
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.
Through nights like this one I held her in my arms.
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.
She loved me, sometimes I loved her too.
How could one not have loved her great still eyes.
Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her.
To hear the immense night, still more immense without her.
And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.
What does it matter that my love could not keep her.
The night is shattered and she is not with me.
This is all. In the distance someone is singing. In the distance.
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.
My sight searches for her as though to go to her.
My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.
Rodriguez 8
The same night whitening the same trees.
We, of that time, are no longer the same.
I no longer love her, that’s certain, but how I loved her.
My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing.
Another’s. She will be another’s. Like my kisses before.
Her voice. Her bright body. Her infinite eyes.
I no longer love her, that’s certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.
Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms
my soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.
Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer
and these the last verses that I write for her.