Grief is a theme throughout Dearly. Dedicated to her partner, Graeme Gibson, who died in 2019 after more than four decades together, Atwood is now an octogenarian and has lost many people close to her. She writes of loss of memory, ageing and dying.
The title poem is magnificent. The author shuffles through old photographs and remembers the time spent with her beloved partner. It is a heartbreaking tale of loss and remembrance of things past. She writes
Dearly beloved, we gather here together
in this closed drawer,
fading now, I miss you.
I miss the missing, those who left earlier.
I miss even those who are still here.
I miss you all dearly.
Dearly do I sorrow for you.
In the poem 'Oh Children' she laments the future world in which climate change has ravaged the world. She wonders what the world will be like without crickets, birds, mice and moss.
But not all the poems are so sorrowful. In 'Frida Kahlo, San Miguel, Ash Wednesday' Atwood writes of memes and souvenirs bearing images of the artist. In 'Sad Utensils' she describes the absence of the word 'reft' which has fallen out of favour.
Atwood's poem 'Princess Clothing', reminded me of one of my favourite poems, Dorothy Parker's 'The Satin Dress'. She canvasses what a woman should wear - wool? cotton? silk? - to avoid the judgement of others. Ever the feminist, Atwood takes aim at the fickleness of trendsetters and the need to please others, she writes
Oh beware,uncover your hair
or else they will burn down your castle.
Wait a minute. Cover it!
Hair. So controversial.
Extraterrestrials make an appearance in this collection - 'The Aliens Arrive' is a humorous take on nine late night movies, for example:
The aliens arrive.
They are smarter than us, and carnivorous.
You know the rest.
Whether she is describing her mother asleep 'curled up like a spring fern' (in 'Blizzard'), or passport photos with 'the sullen jacket stare of a woman who's just been arrested' (in 'Passports'), Atwood has a magnificent turn of phrase.
In any collection of poetry there are verses that appeal immediately and others which do not resonate. I often find that I return to poetry collections again and again and find meaning in different verse on each encounter. Poetry is so deeply tied to my mood as a reader that I reach for favourites to help me shift my mindset when needed. In Dearly, there are a handful of poems that will be added to my favourites list for future recitation.
I am a huge fan of Atwood's writing and reviews of her novels Alias Grace (1996), Oryx and Crake (2003), The Handmaid's Tale (1985) and The Testaments (2019) also appear on this blog.