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‘To be of use’ by Marge Piercy depicts one speaker’s preference to be around those who work hard and understand the importance of perseverance. The poem takes the reader through metaphorical comparisons between oxen, water buffalo, and seals.
“To Be of Use” is a poem that focuses on the value of hard work, the meaningfulness of that work, and the necessity of perseverance. In the poem’s opening, Piercy’s speaker discusses the “people [they] love the best” (Line 1), expressly detailing that those who work hard, even when the situations are adversarial, are admirable.
To Be Of Use. Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1973. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. Download PDF. Access Full Guide.
Oct 19, 2016. “To Be of Use” Text. The people I love the best. Jump into work head first. Without dallying in the shallows. And swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight. They seem to become natives of that element, The black sleek heads of seals. Bouncing like half-submerged balls. I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
This Introduction by the poet to her selected works mentions the poem “To Be of Use” directly. Piercy names it as one of her “favorites.” Piercy also discusses how in creating poetry she tries to “give utterance to energy, experience, [and] insight” and make her “poems work for others.”
To be of use | The Poetry Foundation. By Marge Piercy. The people I love the best. jump into work head first. without dallying in the shallows. and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight. They seem to become natives of that element, the black sleek heads of seals. bouncing like half-submerged balls.
14 kwi 2011 · Marge Piercy writes that "the people she loves the best...swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight", meaning that the people that she likes to be around the most are hard working people. They are so consumed with their work that they seem "like half-submerged balls" floating in the sea.
