The Dream Work

Dogfish

Analysis

This poem is a meditation on survival, transformation, and the harsh realities of life. The dogfish, a predatory sea creature, is a metaphor for the inevitable and often brutal forces that shape our existence. The speaker wrestles with personal desires — to escape the past, to find meaning, to love, and to be kind — while acknowledging the relentless pressures of life’s challenges. The imagery shifts between the natural world (the fish, the tide, the sun) and internal reflections, creating a dynamic interplay between external struggle and inner longing.

Key Themes

1. Self-discovery and transformation – The speaker longs to reinvent themselves, to leave the past behind, and to step into a new identity or purpose.
2. The brutality of nature and life – The dogfish is depicted as both mesmerising and dangerous, a reflection of the unforgiving nature of survival.
3. Resilience and acceptance – The poem accept that life demands endurance and that survival often requires swimming “through the fires.”
4. Yearning for kindness and love – Despite the harshness of existence, the speaker still aspires to be kind and to love, even while knowing how difficult that can be.

7 Strong Quotes

1. “Some kind of relaxed and beautiful thing kept flickering in with the tide and looking around.”
   • Introduces the dogfish as something both alluring and ominous, setting the tone for the dual nature of life’s beauty and danger.
2. “I wanted the past to go away, I wanted to leave it, like another country;”
   • A powerful metaphor for self-discovery and the desire for escape and renewal.
3. “Like a hinge, like a wing, like the part of the song where it falls down over the rocks: an explosion, a discovery;”
   • Lush imagery expressing the speaker’s yearning for dramatic personal transformation and revelation.
4. “Also, I wanted to be able to love. And we all know how that one goes, don’t we?”
   • A moment of vulnerability and universality, touching on the common human struggle to give and receive love.
5. “And nobody gets out of it, having to swim through the fires to stay in this world.”
   • A striking line about the universal ordeal of survival and the unavoidable hardships we all face.
6. “Mostly, I want to be kind. And nobody, of course, is kind, or mean, for a simple reason.”
   • A reflection on the complexity of human nature and morality, suggesting that circumstances shape behavior more than pure intent.
7. “And probably, if they don’t waste time looking for an easier world, they can do it.”
   • A grim but hopeful conclusion, suggesting that survival is possible if one faces reality head-on, without seeking shortcuts.

4 detailed analyses

1. “like another country” – The urge to escape the past

The metaphor of leaving the past “like another country” resonates deeply with the speaker’s internal conflict in Dogfish. The poem reflects a struggle to detach from a past filled with hardship or stagnation. Much like the small fish trying to survive the approaching dogfish, the speaker desires to abandon what once defined them.

2. “like a hinge, like a wing” – The dual nature of transformation

The imagery of life closing and opening “like a hinge, like a wing” parallels the speaker’s confrontation with the harsh truths of life in Dogfish. The hinge, suggesting a necessary pivot, reflects the inevitability of life’s cycles: survival, struggle, and change. The wing, however, offers the possibility of liberation, hinting at the grace and freedom that can emerge from life’s darker moments. The speaker’s realization, amidst the indifferent brutality of nature (e.g., the effortless predation of the dogfish), reflects this hinge-wing tension: transformation is both something we are pushed into and something we can soar through.

3. “the part of the song where it falls down over the rocks” – The collapse before rebirth

This imagery of cascading downward is echoed in Dogfish through the dark, predatory forces of the natural world and the resignation within the speaker. The “fall” in this case could be the acceptance of life’s harsh, predatory nature — like how the dogfish tears through the “soft basins of water” — signaling that surrendering to life’s inevitable difficulties is often the prelude to renewal. The old self, naïve or resistant, must crumble (fall) before the speaker can fully embrace the challenging but honest work of survival and self-discovery.

4. “whoever I was, I was” – Acceptance and resilience

In Dogfish, the speaker admits to both weariness and wisdom gained from experience. This phrase suggests a quiet resolve, much like the tone in the lines “Mostly, I want to be kind” and “Nobody gets out of it, having to swim through the fires to stay in this world.” The poem acknowledges that we carry past selves with us, yet we are constantly shaped by new trials. The speaker doesn’t deny who they were but accepts that survival (and self-discovery) demands the courage to move forward despite — or because of — the scars left behind.

Morning Poem