Living poet Ada Limon’s poem “Instructions on Not Giving Up” follows a theme of persisting through difficult times and looking for the best in bleak situations. Throughout the poem, the narrator chooses to see nature for its beauty and vitality, accepting it for what it is rather than giving up. This poem connects with non-living poet Mary Oliver’s “At Black River” which similarly consists of a narrator describing the strength of something natural (in this case an alligator), and accepting the quiet strength it holds over us as people.
Both of the poems express the oppressive power that nature possesses through vivid imagery of the situation. In Ada Limon’s poem, she actually shows the reader a positive lens of nature through the narrator’s descriptive analysis on winter turning into spring. She explains how the “white and taffy” leaves the pavement, and then the leaves come back. This complex understanding of how the cold hard winter turns into a bright and sunny spring juxtaposes the feeling of winter dread vs spring joy, and it amplifies the narrator’s argument that at the end of the day, it’s all worth it to see the “greening of the trees” come spring time. In Mary Oliver’s “At Black River”, the narrator personifies the alligator, which shows the reader both the importance and the domination of the alligator in its ecosystem. Oliver then pairs this with specific language describing the inferior “thin-waisted fish” and the bird and it’s frilled white gown. This goes to show how even in it’s high place, the river has enough grace to carry life forward and shape the landscape it breathes in. Unfortunately for those other animals though, the alligator is the king of the river and it holds all power above them. This juxtaposed relationship between the river and it’s counterparts is comparable to Limon’s evaluation of winter to spring. In both cases, the narrator thoroughly describes the strength of nature and the hardships it forces you into, but ultimately they both come to accept its necessity for their ecosystem, and admit that they wouldn’t have it any other way. Even though it may seem harsh, the alligator’s role in the Floridian river is a beautiful thing of nature.
In “Instructions on Not Giving Up,” Limon appears to want the reader to believe that even through hardships like winter, you shouldn’t give up because better things could be ahead (spring). This is a crucial thematic element of the poem because it gives the reader its biggest takeaway. Amidst all the angst faced by the winter elements, spring came in just in time, becoming the saving grace to all who struggled through the winter. In addition, the precedent set by a harsh winter makes the turn of spring appear increasingly fortunate. This is similar to “At Black River” because as the reader, we see the narrator begin by showing us the negativity and demonstrative aura held by the gator, before shifting to a tone that is accepting of the alligator’s actions towards its peers within the river.
Ada Limon’s Instructions on Not Giving Up: https://poets.org/poem/instructions-not-giving
Mary Oliver’s 2003 At Black River:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?volume=182&issue=5&page=33