'Travelling Through the Dark'
Beryl Clarke, Contributor

Today we look at William Stafford's Travelling Through the Dark. I believe that you have been wondering whether we would not discuss another poem before the exam. In addition, here too, is some other information.

Let's consider. I am sure that you have already heard of different forms of poetry. There is the closed form which includes sonnets, epics, ballads and villanelles. The open form is written in blank verse. The closed form includes poems which follow a regular (though not rigid in modern times) pattern. Such poems look symmetrical; have repeated patterns with lines of similar length arranged in groups of two, three or four. Both the metric pattern and the rhyme scheme tend to be regular.

The lines of blank verses have a set metrical style - five stressed and five unstressed syllables, but they do not rhyme.

The sonnet is probably the best known of the closed form of poems. It has 14 lines. There are two main kinds; the Shakespearean and the Petrarchan.

The Shakespearean Sonnet has three four-line stanzas or groups of lines and a closing couplet. The Petrarchan is divided into an eight-line segment called an octave, and a six-line section called a sestet. Both are written in iambic pentameter. The ideas in the sonnet follow the way in which it is structured.

Let me point out, however, that this poem has caused some controversy. Some believe that it is a sonnet even though the number of lines and the rhyme scheme do not suggest this.

'Travelling Through the Dark'

Travelling through the dark I found a deer

Dead on the edge of the Wilson River road.

It is usually best to roll them into the canyon.

That road is narrow, to swerve might make more dead.

By glow of the tail-light I stumbled back to the car

And stood by the heap, a doe, a recent killing;

She had stiffened already, almost cold.

I dragged her off, she was large in the belly.

My fingers touching her side brought me the reason -

her side was warm; her fawn lay there waiting,

alive, still never to be born.

Beside that mountain road I hesitated.

The car aimed its lowered parking lights;

Under the hood purred its steady engine.

I stood in the glare exhaust turning red;

Around our group I could hear the wilderness listen.

I thought hard for us all - my only swerving -

Then pushed her over the edge into the river.

1. Read the poem as many times as you wish.

2. Find the meaning of any unfamiliar word or expression.

3. Consider the poet's reason for setting the poem in the time of day that he does.

This is a simple work, or is it? It tells of someone driving along a narrow, dark road one night. A dead deer, one that had been killed not too long before, is lying in the road. Because of the slight width of the road and the potential danger to motorists, the persona gets out of his vehicle with the intention of doing what is usually done, that is, to throw the dead animal into a nearby chasm.

He hesitates. Why does he? Something is different this time. Although the doe is dead she has a living young one in her belly. It is then that the question of choices rears its head. Should our narrator try to 'deliver' the fawn or should he, as was customary, push the dead mother into the gully and so seal the fate of the unborn?

I wonder if like me you ask yourselves about Stafford's reasons for the problem that briefly confronts the narrator. Of course, you do understand why I use the word 'briefly'! He has already made up his mind that he needs to get back to the warmth of his car and he needs to clear the road of an obstacle that could be dangerous. But he does pause and raises a question for us.

Could it possibly be that that this poem is about life in general? All of us are on the road of life and while we all face problems and situations, we do not all react in the same way. Then there is the idea that we, human beings, have been encroaching on the areas that belong to the creatures of the wild. Are we treating them well?

A closer look at this poem will be well worth your while, so please continue to explore it. Until next week, do all you can to ensure your safety and success! God bless!

Grade-six students dance 'brukins', a traditional folk dance during Kensington Primary School's Culture Day, recently, on the school's grounds, in Greater Portmore, St Catherine. The Culture Day includes traditional foods, drinks, dance and songs. The day's activities went under the theme: 'A fi wi Culcha mek wi show it off'. - Anthony Minott/Freelance Photographer