Of Mere Being
The palm at the end of the mind,
Beyond the last thought, rises
In the bronze decor,
A gold-feathered bird
Sings in the palm, without human meaning,
Without human feeling, a foreign song.
You know then that it is not the reason
That makes us happy or unhappy.
The bird sings. Its feathers shine.
The palm stands on the edge of space.
The wind moves slowly in the branches.
The bird's fire-fangled feathers dangle down.
Notes
Stevens positions us at the very palm at the end of the mind, where a gold-feathered bird sings in a landscape completely stripped of human baggage and intellect. Written at the end of his life, it represents the absolute zenith of creative lightness. The human imagination distilled to its pure essence, creating art that exists entirely for its own sake, unmoored from the heavy responsibility of carrying a message. By showing that this bird sings without any desire to console or explain, the poem invites us to drop our frantic pursuit of purpose and simply exist, weightless and bright, in the passing current of being. #modernist #poetry #wallacestevens #writing #existential