Keeping things whole

-Mark Strand

Summary:-

The poet wants to keep things whole. He does not want anything to be broken. He thinks when he is in a field; he breaks the field because he takes up space in it. The only way to make sure the field remains unbroken and whole is to keep moving. “Keeping things whole” pleads for the wholeness against the usual fragmentation that goes on in life.

The world and the people in it have been divided into many fragmentations due to politics, religion, economy, caste system and geography. The fragmentation has given rise to the sense of alienation, exile and identity crisis. The poet in the poem “Keeping Things Whole” feels the same; when he goes he finds himself missing. As he walks, he causes fragmentation in the air. The fragmented air moves back to fill the space where his body has been. All the people in this world have different reasons for moving but the poet moves to keep things whole.

In the poem “Keeping Things Whole” the poet might be trying to tell us that fragmentation is the usual process that keeps in taking place all the time. Though we claim to bring unity, integration, and wholeness among things and people, it is useless because we ourselves are the agent of fragmentation. Our involvement in different social, political and religious situations inevitably invites fragmentation among people.