Planting a Sequoia by David Gioia (lol) is a contemporary lyric poem, written as a response to the death of the poets first born son. The poem is elegaic in its nature as it is mourning the loss of his son; this is mainly emphasized by the use of tone and imagery throughout the poem, as well as through the juxtaposition of life and death. The big idea of this poem is that life and death go hand in hand, inseparable. New life will fill the space that death left behind.
The first stanza introduces the setting, describing the ‘rain blackened’ horizon and the ‘dull grey’ sky. This use of sensory imagery serves to create a bleak, morose and depressing atmosphere. This melancholy mood is only emphasized by the symbolic connotation of the images used, as rain blackened clouds and the dull grey sky are both foreboding and indicative of a tragedy. However, the most powerful symbol of that stanza is that of the ‘old year coming to an end’. The end of a year is most commonly linked to death, loss and mourning. Yet it also alludes to the fact that there is the possibility of a new beginning, a new year, ahead. The scene is therefore not one of hopelessness, which becomes increasingly clear in the following stanzas.
Celebration and tradition are the central ideas in this stanza, as it speaks of the Sicilian custom of planting an olive or fig tree in celebration of the first son’s birth. It stands in juxtaposition to the previous stanza, as it speaks about the beginning of a new life. The contrast is most evident in the sensory imagery used: ‘a promise of new fruit in other autumns’. Here the imagery is tied to the idea of new life, evoking a feeling of hopefulness. The tone seems to be one of hope, seemingly in contrast with the mood of the previous stanza. This is however negated by the fact that Gioia uses a conditional verb in the middle of the stanza: ‘I would have done the same, proudly laying new stock into my father’s orchard’. This verb indicates that the stanza is, though it speaks of celebration, primarily about the loss of his first born son. It addresses the reality that could have been, had his son lived. This therefore emphasizes the idea that …
The heart of the poem is the middle stanza; it addresses life and death at the same time, as the two are directly linked by the planting of a sequoia tree alongside the burial of a lock of the stillborn infant’s hair and his umbilical cord. Though the latter two are symbols of birth and new life, here they are representative of the child’s death. This is, to an extent, ironic, and therefore serves to highlight the inherent connection between life and death. The tone is once again one of mourning, loss and memorial.
Gioia addresses the newly planted Sequoia sapling in this stanza, speaking to it as if it were his son.
