Anatomy Lesson

Coulehan, Jack

Primary Category: Literature / Poetry
Secondary Category: Literature / Poetry

Genre: Poem

Annotated by:
Coulehan, Jack
  • Date of entry: Jan-11-1999

Summary

Coulehan speaks to the cadaver (Ernest), beginning with factual observations about his damp face and beard. He then becomes confessional--in fact, by directly paraphrasing the traditional Catholic formula of confession ("Bless me, father, for I have sinned . . . "). He implores the cadaver to reveal himself, to yield the truth of his condition.

In the last stanza, the tears of conjunctival irritation (formaldehyde) become tears of sorrow "for all offenses / to the heart . . . " and "for the violence / of abomination . . . . " Cutting up a corpse is an "abomination," but one that must be accepted and transcended in order to gain the power to heal. In the end, the tears become life-giving rain on the canyon wall.

Primary Source

The Knitted Glove

Publisher

Nightshade

Publisher

Nightshade

Publisher

Nightshade

Publisher

Nightshade

Publisher

Nightshade

Publisher

Nightshade

Place Published

Troy, Maine

Place Published

Troy, Maine

Place Published

Troy, Maine

Place Published

Troy, Maine

Place Published

Troy, Maine

Place Published

Troy, Maine

Edition

1991

Edition

1991

Edition

1991

Edition

1991

Edition

1991

Edition

1991

Secondary Source

The Knitted Glove