James Dickey, A Spiritual Writer

After reading a couple of the James Dickey poems, I feel that he writes a lot about death, Heaven, and God. For example, the poem called “Walking on Water” which appealed most to me thus far seemed to have a deeper meaning. There is a very large connection to spiritual images throughout the poem which lead me to think of some higher being or God. I feel as though he was writing about Jesus walking on water, while others watched in awe.

When Dickey references “the shining topsoil” I believe that he means the Earth and that Jesus is the “miracle” that he speaks about, who was put on Earth. I also feel that the poem implies that no one is perfect and that even Jesus made mistakes or had a “wrong step of sliding.” Dickey makes references to the Earth and Heaven by utilizing language such as “two open blue worlds”. In addition, James Dickey talks about a “shark pursuing” as well, which I strongly believe is symbolic of the Devil. In the poem, the shark threatens the very life of the “miracle” person and therefore is symbolic of the great threat in which the Devil is to Christianity.

Throughout the poem, I believe that Dickey is sharing the story of Jesus Christ and how he came to Earth, and will come again on the “Great Judgment Day” as it is known to many who believe in him. For me, Jesus is the only individual that I can think of who would not leave footprints behind, yet “the shimmering place of an infinite step upon water.” This is as if saying that although there is no hard proof or evidence that Jesus did in fact exist, there is evidence in those who believe in him. Jesus is also often described as “shining” or “sparkling” images which are words used to describe the person in the poem. The return of Jesus I feel, is indicated in the passage “until I return in my ghost.” Jesus’ return is then followed by the talk about Judgment Day by phrases such as “balancing child”, “amazed”, and “led by the nose into heaven.” The “balancing child” is Jesus, who has to decide whether or not we go to Heaven or Hell and who leads us into Heaven if we are worthy of going there. The people on Earth are the ones that will be “tight-lipped” and “amazed” when he comes, for they will be like a deer caught in the headlights. No one truly is able to understand what you are supposed to do, or how you must act when he does indeed come again and thus is responsible for why they are going to act this way out of awe for him. From reading this poem “Walking on Water” in particular, as well as a few others, they lead me to believe that James Dickey is a very religious, spiritual man who likes to express his beliefs through his poems.