Poem Analysis The Very End by Tom Sleigh

The poem that is reviewed in this brief essay is The Very End, as written by Tom Sleigh. As is indicated by the essay assignment prompt, the poem is about Sleigh’s grandmother. This is made quite clear on the page with the poem. Indeed, there is the text “For my grandmother” just below the title of the essay. What follows is a poem that is not terribly long. However, there is obviously a lot going on and the verbiage on display is both profound and nebulous at the same time. This is true in terms of what is said about his grandmother. It is also true about what is said about others. While Sleigh’s message is shrouded and dressed with some interesting references, the intent of the poem’s author is quite clear.
Analysis
One thing to point out about the poem is how Sleigh swings back and forth in terms of who he speaks about. There are clips where he is clearly and obviously talking about his grandmother. There are other phrases where he seems to be going off on tangets of thought. For example, the third and fourth lines are clearly about his grandmother. Indeed, those lines say “Instead, a pair of button-shoes you wore, false teeth, a veil, a monogrammed bracelet” (Sleigh). However, those two lines are bookended by some rather interesting historical references. The line prior refers to Nero and Caligula. The line after, that being the fifth, says “blot the Roman son with their antiquity”. The apparent reason for these references seems to arise in the next few lines. Indeed, he makes references to how his grandmother would do housework, such as where it says “you dust or cook” (Sleigh). He then makes references to how she would read the latest work about child psychology. The sum total of this would be that the grandmother was an avid reader of literature, with an apparent focus on non-fiction such as history and psychology. Another rather telling reference is the concurrent use of the words “gloved” and “threatening”. This would seem to indicate that his grandmother had a warm yet sinister voice or tone (Sleigh).
Another obvious theme is the sum total of the historical references. They are all in reference to Rome. The references to Caligula, Nero, the “Roman sun” and the triumvirate are all Roman in their genesis. The historical references and the references to the grandmother come together in that there is the reference of fading away. This is with the word “farewell” in the third to last line, the reference that says “what with history droning names” and the use of the word “oblivion”. Interestingly, the latter of those is capitalized. This would seem to give the afterlife, or lack thereof, some import beyond what others might feel about it. There is seemingly a reference to how all the figures in the poem, both historical and personal, have been “pricked” away and that all that remains are things. The consistent references to what his grandmother left behind and the parallels drawn with the Roman terms and figures would seem to indicate this and more (Sleigh).
Conclusion
The last phrase of the poem, about the last two and a half lines, would seem to tie everything into a neat little bow. Indeed, there is the reference that he sees his grandmother above and beyond the dates that memorialize the important parts of her life. It perhaps speaks to the idea that the facts and facets of her life are one thing but the real presence she had was so much more to him. There seems to be a vexing duality whereby what is recited and known about the person pales in comparison to when the person was truly there and manifesting their personality and life. Sleigh has much the same thing to say about Nero and Caligula, albeit in a different way. The finality of death would seem to affect the perspective and viewpoint of Sleigh in very profound and marked ways.
Works Cited
Sleigh, Tom. "The Very End By Tom Sleigh." Poetry Foundation. N.p., 2017. Web. 6 Sept. 2017.