Dichotomy of the Self

The poem begins with a literal, physical rupture of the self: the speaker splits their thumb open, nearly severing it “Except for a sort of hinge / Of skin” (Lines 4-5). In this moment, the speaker came very close to removing one part of their body (albeit a very small part). However, the implication is that this splitting apart is a metaphor for a larger, internal shift. The speaker becomes immediately fascinated by this miraculous bodily sensation because it reflects a state of being which they were not able to articulate any other way. In the second stanza, the poem describes a scene of intense interpersonal conflict: a pilgrim (a white colonial settler) is attacked by an Indigenous native. Although pilgrims are largely associated with American history, they also represent the European influence on North American land. In the following stanza, this idea is...