Wait

Kinnell is known as one of the poets associated with the Deep Image movement, along with poets Robert Kelly, Robert Bly, and Kinnell’s good friend James Wright. “Wait” is among Kinnell’s work that contributes to this movement, although it is written after the height of the movement in the 1960s and 70s. Deep Image poetry is considered a stylized, resonant poetry that often draws connections between the physical and spiritual realms. It is considered highly subjective poetry that broke from the strict formalism of American poetry in the 1950s. The poems are sometimes written as narratives making use of concrete images and experiences to explore and convey more figurative, poetic meaning. This style of poetry is described as “meditative,” using images to access deeper levels of consciousness, but while some in the Deep Image movement may have tended towards surrealism, Kinnell’s work, like “Wait,” remains realist and descriptive.

Common and simple objects appear in “Wait”—buds, gloves, looms, and hair—reflecting this style that explores the abstract (feelings and emotions) through the concrete. For the reader, “buds that open out of season” (Line 8) might otherwise go unnoticed in everyday life, but when placed in the context of healing and love renewing, they become “interesting” (Line 8) again, suggesting the beginning of something new and unexpected. The practice of Deep Image poetry seeks to direct the reader towards a deeper and truer understanding of the human experience while doing so with empathy.