Tracy K. Smith


The speaker then questions our seemingly endless thirst for knowledge about the universe, and whether this is altogether wise. She references the incredible power of instruments such as the Hubble Space Telescope, which, since the time of writing the poem, has been surpassed by an even more powerful instrument, the James Webb Space Telescope: ‘We grind lenses to an impossible strength,// Point them toward the future’. The speaker is hinting at our recklessness in continuously innovating and improving such instruments, as we have no way of knowing what, or who, we ‘and dream of beings/ We’ll welcome with indefatigable hospitality’.We see the humour in Smith’s use of dialogue and exclamation: ‘How marvelous you’ve come!’ However, this humour is mixed with horror when she suggests that these aliens may be different from how we imagine, and that it may take all our strength not to recoil from them.  mouths, the nubbin limbs.’


 gracious hosts, even though our physical appearance will be naturally superior. We will be tall, willowy, healthy: ‘We’ll rise,// Gracile, robust.’ We will hospitably welcome the aliens, claiming that our home is their home: ‘Mi casa es su casa. Never more sincere.’ However, the aliens may be able to infer our real meaning (which might not be as friendly) from this statement: ‘Seeing us, they’ll know exactly what we mean./ Of course, it’s ours. If it’s anyone’s, it’s ours.’ There is a deliberate note of uncertainty here. The phrase ‘of course’ suggests that it goes without saying. But the repetition of ‘it’s ours’, combined with the phrase ‘if it’s anyone’s’, suggests that perhaps it isn’t really ours – perhaps humans have no more claim to Earth then visiting aliens do. An alarming prospect indeed! Smith may also be making a point about the environment, and using irony to do so: The Earth does not just belong to human beings, but also to myriad other species – it is their planet, too.


LEAVING CERTIFICATE HIGHER LEVEL


459


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