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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” by Marge Piercy is a lyric poem of four stanzas that was first published in a 1973 collection of the same title. This collection was Piercy’s fourth, published relatively early in her career.
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. I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
When the speaker references seals and their similitude to “half-submerged balls”, I conjure an extraordinarily vivid mental image of those seals bobbing up and down, just as beach balls do. It is an effective piece of sensory writing, and also serves to relate how one can become “a native of that element”.
Piercy also discusses how in creating poetry she tries to “give utterance to energy, experience, [and] insight” and make her “poems work for others.” Get access to this full Study Guide and much more!
Marge Piercy. To Be of Use. 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,
