Commentary On the Poem--The Swimmer's Moment

This is a Mid 20th Century Poem which is written by magaret Avison.
Commented by David Z. He
The Swimmer's Moment
Margaret Avison
From: Winter Sun. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962. pp.36
For everyoneThe swimmer's moment at the whirlpool comes,
But many at that moment will not say
"This is the whirlpool, then."By their refusal they are saved
From the black pit, and also from contesting
The deadly rapids, and emerging in
The mysterious, and more ample, further waters.
And so their bland-blank faces turn and turn
Pale and forever on the rim of suction
They will not recognize.
Of those who dare the knowledge
Many are whirled into the ominous centre
That, gaping vertical, seals up
For them an eternal boon of privacy,
So that we turn away from their defeat
With a despair, not for their deaths, but for
Ourselves, who cannot penetrate their secret
Nor even guess at the anonymous breadth
Where one or two have won:
(The silver reaches of the estuary).

Commentary:
Through this poem, the author is making metaphorical comparison between swimming and life. The title itself gives evidence to support this as swimmer’s life could be related to the moment in life when one must choose whether or not to overcome challenge and obstacles, which is whirlpool. It is hard to tell because the metaphors that the author uses could be interpreted differently. “Many are whirled into the ominous centre/That, gaping vertical, seals up.” Through this quote we can prove that many people who encounter hardships tries to overcome them, however, if they don’t have a strong heart, they will not come out of them.
I liked the poem because the significant moment of life is compared to the trivial actions of swimming. This poem gives great consequence to the purpose of the depth of a challenge. It is an inspirational piece that shows us that if you have the courage to succeed, you will
The poem is written in free style with no regular meter nor rhyme scheme.
The description of water makes readers to imagine a picturesque. The words such as “black pit, rim of suction, whirl, anonymous breath, bland-blank faces” make imagery on senses. The poem makes an image of hope among despair.
The exploration at the beginning of Canada’s history relates to this poem greatly. As the early explorers sailed into unknown waters and dreamt about the new world in the despair of the many storms and hardships at sea. They overcame their boredom and succeed in landing on the coast of the New world. The swimmer in this poem has faced the hardships and risks involved in conquering the obstacles. They were faced with unknown challenges and long sea voyages, considering that they rarely left sight of the shore this was an incredible feat of hope and determination where they overcame the obstacles and did not get sucked into the depths of the whirlpool.

By --David Z. He. David Hakim. Molly Kim. Chirtopher Warrent