By: CARMEN GAEBE
Staff Writer
“A Being in the Age of Consumerism”- Tamara Simic
I’m constantly searching for myself –
That part which is essential, inherent.
I sense its presence, it’s somewhere within
The being which echoes with infrequent shouts
Of a neglected foreigner
Who happens to live in my dwelling.
But it’s a language I can’t comprehend;
Only some fragments, and on rare occasions
When we’re at peace, like adults
With altruistic motives.
I’m persistent in my search
So persistent that I tend to go outside
In hope of finding
The object of my pursuit.
But I’m offered a wide selection of objects
Each resembling that which I desperately seek.
I consume, yet I’m the one who’s consumed,
Drained slowly, gradually
Until the essence is left to evaporate
As if its only purpose is to be absorbed
Into bountiful void.
I stuff myself with pleasures
Until I dissolve in them,
Become the object of my desire.
Then the insight and rejection.
Continuation of the search
Of the lost one.
But it is different with you, my beloved.
You contain that spark
Which will revive me.
You can fill the gap,
Complete the circle.
Only a little more;
I know I will find it.
This is what I need,
Is it not?
“A being of the age of consumerism” by Tamara Simic is a beautifully crafted poem written to display to the audience the soul-crushing experience of finding yourself in a world full of distractions. Simic uses not only carefully selected vocabulary to help impact the reader further but also engaging imagery that creates a world inside your head that affects you in the best ways, causing you to want to read the next line as quickly as possible. Throughout the poem Simic uses words such as “essential, inherent… neglected foreigner… Drained slowly… bountiful void”, to help the reader understand the depth of which the narrator of the poem is feeling as though she doesn’t truly know herself. This portrayal of her alienation is what pushes the reader to better understand why she has turned to buying material items to create a sense of self. Descriptive imagery is another way Simic depicts her struggles; in line 28 she writes, “I stuff myself with pleasures Until I dissolve in them ”(28-29 Simic). This commentary on only focusing yourself on gathering material objects can then cause you to get lost and live your life as though you’re absent from your true self. This poem connects how buying material things in order to fill a void will never fill the void and instead will make you feel more empty.