No, by exploration we don't mean hiking. We don't mean a deserted island, either. Nope, pirate ships are out of picture, as are polar dog sleds. By exploration, we're talking about a kind of spiritual exploration that happens in a down-to-earth kind of way. "The Sacred" addresses the need for people to "get away," which is like exploring isolation and silence. Although there aren't any hidden chests of golden treasures at the end of this poem, there is silence, which, as you know, turns out to be golden (hardy, car, car).
Questions About Exploration
- How is the idea of "going" related to exploration?
- What does the speaker mean when he ends the poem with "going"? How is the idea of "going" related to the idea of going to unknown territory?
- How does this poem equate driving with writing a poem? In what ways does this poem argue that writing is a type of exploration?
Chew on This
Take off, eh? The twists and turns of this poem's form create a map that suggests this poem is about finding a new way through uncharted territory.
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but in this poem, it's the gasoline that revs the speaker's engine to explore a space that's "away from the need to speak."