Insomnia
An obvious example of the theme of insomnia is in Simic's poem, 'Hotel Insomnia,' which is aptly named. A night in a hotel room is described a sleepless, yet instead of a passively frustrating night, an active recoleection of the surrounding goings-on is depicted. The reader experiences the insomnia with the speaker through sensory description. Visually, it is dark and the air is thick with 'cigarette smoke.' The reader hears the '"Gypsy" forutneteller,' going to the bathroom and notes that they had been enjoying realtions before hand. This would suggest that perhaps the speaker heard these events too in his sleepless state. At 'the sound of a child sobbing,' it becomes difficult for the speaker to separate this crying from their own self, thinking they too were crying. At this point in the poem, the insomnia is made very clear, particularly as the lines between self and surroundings are blurred in a sleep-derived daze.
In the poem, 'This Morning,' there is an indication of insomnia, caused by the absence of a loved one and loneliness. The speaker describes, 'a night of the radio turned down low,' perhaps a symbol of background noise as a comfort, allowing a slightly less lonely environement. A person, presumably Estella, has been substituted with a radio speaking quietly as a replacement that is not living up to the desired reality. The 'fitful sleep,' and 'vague, troubling dreams,' reveal the darker and more frustrating side of insomnia, that is very real for a lot of people. The reader may well relate to these effects and so sympathise more with the speaker.
Loss
The theme of loss is expressed in the poem, 'This Morning,' through the speaker's longing for and missing of 'Estella.' The consequences of such a loss are expressed initially, before the absence of Estella is explicitly referred to, and the reader does not know whether Estella has passed away or has left this man. The sadness of the speaker is, however expressed, and the effects of this loss include insomnia, with him waking up, 'lovesick,' and, 'confused.' The mis-identification of the sound of the rain as, 'Estella in the garden singing / And some bird answering her,' reveals the deeper madness within oneself when a part of their life is lost. When he describes saying, '"Come to me my desire," through indirect speech, the speaker shows his longing for Estella in her absence, so much so that he imagines her yet again. It is much more real and far less fleeting this time, as the reader is approached by Estella through the eyes of this man and sensory, descriptive language. We smell her, 'breath,' which is minty and pleasant, and feel 'her tongue,' which wets the man's own cheek. The relationship between this speaker and the ant, and its 'silence,' representes the reality of loneliness and loss, as well as making do with what is persent during a given moment.
In 'My Shoes,' however, the effects of loss are much darker and disturbing. The person in this poem states to their beloved shoes, 'My brother and sister who died at birth / Continuing their existence in you.' The loss of two siblings has created an attachment to a physical object that cannot die and leave the speaker forms a comfort and a link between the speaker and their lost brother and sister, almost as if these shoes are their reincarnation. The extent to which the speaker reveres these shoes is shown in that they desire a religion to be formed around them. This is interesting, as the speaker has not turned to the church as a comfort, but has formed their own way to vent and deal with the loss of their siblings. This madness and eventual personifying of the shoes as a way to live like and close to their sibling's previous 'incomprehensible innocence' is a sign of madness through this loss. There is also evidence that the speaker loses some of their own identity because of this loss, as the shoes become a 'true likeness,' of them. Perhaps it is that the speaker has actually transformed and lost themselves through this almsot spiritual journey through grief and mourning.
Conflict
The theme of conflict is a pressing subject throughout time and within the poems of Charles Simic. In 'Empire of Dreams,' the reder is faced with an innocent look at conflict as the everyday reality for the speaker of this poem. The setting of their desired reality is an 'Empire,' one that is 'occupied,' indicating a taking over by external forces or troops. There are restrictions in this places, with a 'curfew,' being imposed, yet the conflict between this speaker and the rules seems passive or even non-exsistent. They live within the boundaries of their fantasy world, because that is what they desire. Perhaps the theme of conflict here represents a routine or rules to follow as comforting. The empty shops and darkened buildings may set a tone of desolation and abandonement, as no one resists this conflict in the everyday world, simply being content to live in its shadow. The speaker is slightly more defiant, yet remains within the time constraints of curfew. Their rebellion and conflict against these conflicting forces is a personal battle, of stretching the rules for their own interest. They look for a 'black dog,' that responds to them, perhaps a symbol of the possibility of creating a reltionship with the outsiders and the response that is possible with communication during conflict. Ironically, the reluctancy to wear a scary mask shows a bravery to demonstrate some rebellion, yet not create too much conflict.
'On this Very Street in Belgrade,' presents the theme of conflict in the background, as a cause for the setting of this poem. 'The smoking ruins of a building,' may refer to a place destroyed by bombing or shelling during World War I or II, as conflict was rife in Belgrade, Serbia, especially when it was occupied. Therefore, the theme of conflict is very real and historically grounded in this particular poem.
This theme is also depicted in 'Paradies Motel.' Simic presents a person in a motel roomm, that sees the conflict outside yet it can be "switched off," by simply changing the channel. The destruction of conflict is shown through the fact, 'Millions are dead,' and the war is almost justified by the 'President.' The speaker does not recognise himself, perhaps as they consider being shipped off to war. They may also be deciphering the President's words and wondering where the fault really lies, although apparently (and satirically) 'everybody was innocent.' The conflict metaphorically of this persons life juxtaposing the violence of the physical conflict elsewhere, shown in the statement, 'I lived well, but life was awful, a paradox, reveals the attitudes and realities of the world towards those suffering and the effects of conflict outside of their bubble. The droves of 'refugees crowding the roads,' victims of this conflict, are ignored simply 'with a touch of the hand,' when the channel is changed. The metaphorical personification, 'History licked the corners of its bloody mouth,' suggests that conflict will never be resolved without a real focus and care on the part of the people not involved, and the major conflict lies within oneself and the spurring on of the world to respond.
Time
The theme of time is central in Simic's poem, 'The School of Metaphysics, yet it is linked to the theme of death. the 'executioner,' that tells this speaker 'how his wristwatch works,' and follows him shadily, reappears at the end of the poem, revealing that his watch has numbers but not hands. The second stanza emphasises a lack of time throught 'the clock on the church tower,' that, 'had stopped at five to eleven,' and through the lack of date on the daily newspaper. The link between time and death is suggested as the 'Executioner,' which is really only a nickname, which foreshadows his role in reality, unawares to the speaker, tries to make the subject, 'understand right there and then.' The reader can interpret this reference to a moment in time, 'then and there,' and the vagueness of this dark and suspicious person, as a sign that the speaker may have died. The clock stopped at 'five to eleven,' is a stamp of their time of death and the lack of date reveals a life ended, not to face another day. This 'grim and officious,' character becomes a symbol for death, almost literally as an 'executioner,' however he does not cause the death of the subject in this poem, but aparently only reveals it to them. Time is therefore represented as a construct of life and the living in this poem, and it stops when this ends.
Secrecy and Communication
These two themes are juxtaposed in some ways, but really are quite close in content. In the poem, 'Pigeons at Dawn,' secrecy is presented as a deliberate act of communication, as 'extraordinary efforts are made,' in order to 'hide things, from the speaker and their companion. The methods through which this is done include personal reflection and a secret rendevous to have relations. Whilst the silence of the city and 'wisps of white smoke,' are covers and masks keeping information from these subjects, the emphasis of the poem on deliberte secrecy is lessened, through the person who feeds the pigeons, that is, 'all but invisible, but for her slender arm.' This lack of identity may be a way to keep from being praised for her efforts to be kind to these birds, or it may be a way to keep herself from those that may hurt her by keeping their secrets from her. The secrecy and lack of communication both compares and contrasts with the poem, 'Talking to Little Birdies,' which is a pun playing on the clichéd phrase, "a little bird told me."
The speaker in this poem is desperate for information, which is kept hidden from him by the birds, just as the information and livelihoods of those in 'Pigeons at Dawn,' are kept from the speaker and their friend. Ironically, here the speaker desires nuggets of information from the birds, whilst in the latter, the pigeons desire nuggets of food from the humans. The speaker in 'Talking to Little Birdies,' then speculates, revealing secrets to the birds inadvertently, such as gossiping about, 'strangers leaving the widow's house, / Tieless and wearing crooked grins.' This suggestive comment indicates that perhaps some underhand or inappropriate things happen in that house, which is speculative and gossip.
The value of information and need for communication instead of secrecy is also shown in 'Private Eye,' as the speaker states, 'i'm not closing up till he breaks,' a predominately monosyllabic sentence, revealing the methods to extract information when needed. However, the comment about the cleaner in the imperative, 'Keep your nose out of it,' also monosyllabic in nature, demands a respect for information. It portrays communication and secrecy as subjective, necessary in some cases, prevalent or absent in others depending. The seriousness of secrecy and need or lack of communcation in each of these poems varies greatly, yet the interpretation of who is right, who is wrong and who owns the information is up to the reader to decide, keeping them enagaged and giving them a role in the poem.
