Death
Pinsky uses the concept of death—either overtly or covertly—to address several emotions in his poems. In the aptly-named “Dying” poem, Pinsky takes a more realistic and somber approach than many of his other poems. He explains through the narrator how it feels to be intimately acquainted with someone who is dying. In this poem, the narrator reflects upon the complex emotions that are associated with knowing someone who is dying. He explains that the phrase ‘everyone is dying’ seems much less important when you realize someone you know is dying more quickly than you thought. In this way, this poem characterizes how death is a different experience for everyone and yet an absolute truth for all of us. The faster we or someone we know approaches death, however, the more sobering it is. Pinsky also briefly reflects upon a mass-extinction event in “Ceremony,” where he discusses how God has the ultimate power to destroy all humanity. In this poem, death is not nearly as tangible an idea as in “Dying,” but is still characterized as an absolute and impending event. In “Ceremony,” Pinsky also draws a parallel between death and God’s power, for God has the ability to single-handedly destroy all of humanity.
God
In “Ceremony,” Pinsky delves into the malevolent power that God is capable of wielding. He likens the end of the world—Armageddon or the apocalypse—to a performance, put on by God to watch his disappointing creations to suffer. In this poem, the narrator suggests that God is disgusted by and disappointed with the acts and morals of humanity. As a result, He has decided to smite all of His creation to prove not only that He has the power to do so, but also to destroy the humans that have become such a disappointment. In this way, Pinsky uses this poem as a warning that God not only has the power but also the inclination to destroy us if and when we become too morally corrupt and disappointing. God, Pinsky warns, will find no sorrow in our destruction and will instead view it as a performance, a form of entertainment.
Hell
Imagery of Hell and its burning depths are common in Pinsky’s poems. In “Antique,” for example, the narrator likens his love with a woman to a burning inferno. He explains that—when they are apart—he feels immense grief, as if he were burning in the fiery pits of Hell. The narrator also suggests that this partner, after leaving him, is located in Hell, as she committed terrible sins against him. As a result, Pinsky uses the fiery imagery of Hell to liken a difficult relationship to flames and pain. This same symbolic imagery of fire and blood appears again very briefly in “Catatonic,” when the narrator describes how the blood in his veins runs red and burns like fire.
