The poem is filled with allusions to scientific advances, secular and spiritual ways of understanding the world, and an optimistic tone that encourages seeking and exploration. Melone engages with numerous literary devices throughout while also allowing the reader more than enough room to interpret images in different ways through different lenses. ‘Light Refraction’ concludes with a refreshingly hopeful image of humankind’s search for knowledge.
Light Refraction Matt Melone Collecting refracted light, we probe the far beyond Telescopes peer the infinite distances beyond our orb Polishing reflective mirrors, focusing faceted prisms Apprehension and excitement, mysteries revealed in time Knowledge is the first step on the path of enlightenment Gathering the light, we must gaze into our speckled past Distance spans epochs of space and time in reverse Triumphant success and tragic error, beauty with pain The further we look, the marching eons merely reveal History only, unable to unveil what our future holds Focusing the light, we are invited to look deep within Microscopes expose clearly what our cloudy eyes obscure Atoms, electrons, photons, bosons, and particle beams Invisible with naked eye, following hidden rules and laws Our quest for the elusive unified theory of everything Magnifying the light, we behold our humble place Sapient ancestors bravely struck matches in the dark Seek the sage voices in humanity’s hallowed halls Take up the torch, carrying the flame boldly forward Stepping stones illumine, follow only those spiraling up Discerning the light, we are making essential choices Refracting both aspects, single particles and flowing waves Ignorance falls away as dark matter slips from sight Super massive black holes, spectral light cannot escape The event horizon always brims with blinding brilliance Inviting the light, we endeavor to reflect radiant virtues All things wise have already been written and recorded Summoning sacred scrolls, striving to make them our own Truth, compassion, forgiveness, redemption, and service Forever the enlightened path, the eternal echo from the void
Summary
‘Light Refraction’ by Matt Melone is a thoughtful poem about humanity’s quest to understand the physical world and determine a path through life.
The poem takes the reader through six stanzas that use interesting examples of imagery to describe what it’s like looking into the universe, seeing the deep past and the more recent past, and using it to inform one’s choices. The speaker alludes to the quest for a theory of everything as well as a desire inherent to humanity to find a purpose to life and a good way of living it. The poem concludes on a hopeful note, with the speaker suggesting that humanity is walking on a hallowed path, one trod by many before. It’s headed towards the light and towards a hopeful future.
Themes
Throughout ‘Light Refraction,’ Melone engages with themes of the future, the past, and the nature of humanity. The speaker spends the lines using light and science-related language in order to paint a picture of what the search for knowledge, spiritual and secular, is like. He uses a telescope and microscope to examine the world, breaking it down into its smallest pieces and its broadest and most important elements.
Structure and Form
‘Light Refraction’ by Matt Melone is a six-stanza poem that is divided into sets of five lines, known as quintains. These quintains are written in free verse. This means that the lines do not follow a specific rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. The lines are all around the same length, ranging from around twelve to fifteen syllables. Their visual similarity gives the poem an immediate feeling of unity, something that’s beneficial for the reader’s overall experience.
Literary Devices
Throughout ‘Light Refractions,’ Melone uses several literary devices. These include but are not limited to:
- Caesura: a pause in the middle of a line of verse. This is created through the use of punctuation or meter. For example, “Magnifying the light, we behold our humble place.”
- Imagery: occurs when the poet uses particularly interesting and effective descriptions. For example, “Microscopes expose clearly what our cloudy eyes obscure” and “Super massive black holes, spectral light cannot escape.”
- Personification: can be seen when the poet imbues something non-human with human characteristics. For example, “the marching eons” in stanza two.
- Parallelism: occurs when the poet repeats the same structure in multiple lines. In this case, the first line of every stanza starts with two words followed by “light.” The first stanza begins, “Collecting refracted light,” the second starts with: “Gathering the light,” and so on.
Detailed Analysis
Stanza One
Collecting refracted light, we probe the far beyond
Telescopes peer the infinite distances beyond our orb
Polishing reflective mirrors, focusing faceted prisms
Apprehension and excitement, mysteries revealed in time
Knowledge is the first step on the path of enlightenment
In the first lines of ‘Light Refraction,’ the speaker begins by noting how “we,” humankind, gather light and probe into the distances through a telescope. Using refracted light, the device allows us to look into “distances beyond” the Earth. The insights we gain from these explorations are at once exciting and fearful. There is some apprehension in our exploration due to the number of unknowns we may encounter.
Readers should note the use of repetition in this stanza, like those which follow. The speaker returns to the same images of light, darkness, mystery, and exploration. He uses words like “beyond” more than once.
Stanza Two
Gathering the light, we must gaze into our speckled past
Distance spans epochs of space and time in reverse
Triumphant success and tragic error, beauty with pain
The further we look, the marching eons merely reveal
History only, unable to unveil what our future holds
In the second stanza, the speaker goes on, adding that through this gathering of light, “we” are able to explore the universe as well as learn something about ourselves. “We” are able to see our past, with the future remaining a mystery that even the greatest advances of science can’t uncover.
The speaker makes a point to combine the scientific with the emotional and personal in these lines, as well as those which follow. He’s speaking about the universe as a whole as well as one’s personal experience in the world. These images of light and history speak to one’s experience within the universe as well as how it physically came together.
Stanza Three
Focusing the light, we are invited to look deep within
Microscopes expose clearly what our cloudy eyes obscure
Atoms, electrons, photons, bosons, and particle beams
Invisible with naked eye, following hidden rules and laws
Our quest for the elusive unified theory of everything
In the third stanza of ‘Light Refraction,’ the speaker describes how focused light, as channeled by microscopes, allows us to see clearly that which our flawed human eyes obscure. The truth of existence is broken down into electrons, photons, and more. These all play a part in uncovering a “theory of everything.” This is an allusion to a singular, all-encompassing theory of physics that explains all elements of the universe. Proposed theories include M-theory and String theory.
Stanza Four
Magnifying the light, we behold our humble place
Sapient ancestors bravely struck matches in the dark
Seek the sage voices in humanity’s hallowed halls
Take up the torch, carrying the flame boldly forwardStepping stones illumine, follow only those spiraling up
The fourth stanza returns to images of humanity, suggesting that this quest to find a theory of everything is all in order to figure out what our humble place on earth is all about. The speaker refers to “Sapient ancestors” who first invented fire and the broader history of humanity that we are all a part of.
As we investigate the history, we become a part of that legacy of men and women who “carry…the flame boldly forward.” We’re on a path made of metaphorical stepping stones that leads into the future.
Stanzas Five and Six
Discerning the light, we are making essential choices
Refracting both aspects, single particles and flowing waves
Ignorance falls away as dark matter slips from sight
Super massive black holes, spectral light cannot escape
The event horizon always brims with blinding brilliance
Inviting the light, we endeavor to reflect radiant virtues
All things wise have already been written and recorded
Summoning sacred scrolls, striving to make them our own
Truth, compassion, forgiveness, redemption, and service
Forever the enlightened path, the eternal echo from the void
In the fifth stanza, the speaker uses more light-related language to depict how humanity makes decisions and move towards a future the speaker appears to see as bright and hopeful.
The “echo from the void” ends the poem on a thoughtful note. The speaker acknowledges how it seems as though every “wise” thing has already been written and that we, as human beings, are constantly looking for some way to “make them our own.” As we walk into the future, “truth, compassion, forgiveness, redemption, and service” are on our minds. This optimistic version of the future ends the poem with a hopeful tone.
Similar Poetry
Readers who enjoyed this piece should also consider reading some other Matt Melone poems. For example:
- ‘Spring Morning’ – a peaceful poem that asks the reader to carefully observe and appreciate their surroundings.
- ‘Mosaic’ – explores themes of equality, peace, and the future.
- ‘A Mother’s Legacy’ – describes the influence the speaker’s mother had on his youth, and since her passing, on his adulthood.
