An Analysis Of Tracy K. Smith's Life On Mars

“Life On Mars” is a collection of poems written by award-winning author Tracy K. Smith. Throughout the text, she plunges into ideas about space and the unknown as well as the physical world, while incorporating emotions derived from her father's death. Smith’s poetry can be described as abstract, intriguing, and thought-provoking. As stated in The Gray Wolf Press, the Pulitzer Prize judges explained her work as “a collection of bold, skillful poems, taking readers into the universe and moving them to an authentic mix of joy and pain" (qtd. in “Life On Mars”). Smith’s fascination with the universe has allowed for readers to become knowledgeable about the mysterious world of outer-space and connect it to life on Earth. In the poem, “My God, It’s

Full of Stars,” Smith expresses her thoughts on space and the universe as well as her father’s contributions towards working on the Hubble Telescope. Although Tracy K. Smith’s poems explore the vastness of life and the universe, she incorporates Earth-related images and symbols throughout her poetry in order to further the reader’s understanding of the relations between space and life on Earth.
In “My God, It’s Full of Stars,” the writer precisely chooses her images in order for incomprehensible ideas to be scrutinized more easily. Since space is limitless and hard to interpret, Tracy K. Smith describes it in a way that allows readers to understand space through physical objects on Earth. Placing fathomable images throughout the poem helps the reader grasp the feelings and ideas Smith has about space and Earth relations. She engages in her idea that “When all along, space might be a choc-full of traffic” (Smith 49). The idea that space is “full of traffic” creates a perspective people may not have recognized before. By presenting words, such as “traffic,” that are familiar to people, Smith portrays the vastness of space with an image people can comprehend based on their daily experiences. Smith admits to Yale Literary Magazine, “Because I was trying to rein in something that seemed so alien, so remote, the images that became useful to me were very earthbound” (Orbison). Although the landscape of space seems far-fetched, she utilizes images that make it seem almost earth-like. She furthers the similarity between Earth and space when stating “Pitching stones / At whatever their moons. They live wondering / If they are the only ones, knowing only the wish to know” (Smith 53-55). Within the previous lines, Smith makes aliens seem like humans. Many people on Earth consider whether aliens exist, but the author of this poem reverses the situation by suggesting the aliens wonder whether life exists on Earth. Creating this different perspective of aliens can devise a feeling of connection throughout the overall universe, which Smith continues to explain: “And the great black distance they--we-- flicker in” (Smith 56). Life on Earth may not be so different from the vast, mysterious universe that is out there. The encompassing of comprehensible images allows Smith to delve into topics that create a feeling of similarity within the infinity of the universe.
Furthermore, incorporating images that are familiar to human language will motivate people to assess life on Earth because they now have a greater understanding of life throughout the universe. Tracy K. Smith references a “cosmic mother watching through a spray of stars” (12). This produces a feeling that all Earth-beings are the children of a “cosmic mother.” Most children on Earth follow what their mother tells them to do. Keeping the same following process means all humans on Earth would essentially follow what the “cosmic mother” says. The author writes “Biting her lip if we teeter at some ledge. Longing / To sweep us to her breast, she hopes for the best” (Smith 14-15). If the “cosmic mother” is overlooking all of humanity, people will realize their actions are being accounted for. Smith hopes readers will realize that their actions may not just be accounted for in human life but may also correlate with life after death. The author then goes to say “While the father storms through adjacent rooms / Ranting with force of Kingdom Come / Not caring anymore what might snap us in its jaw” (Smith 16-18). The “cosmic mother” and “father” present the gender roles in space just like on Earth. The “cosmic mother” hopes humanity will do their best to please her, so she “hopes for the best” (15). She nurtures, like women throughout society have, wanting “[t]o sweep us under her breast” (15), while the father “storms” and “rants with force” because he sees the world for what it really is: “So brutal and alive” (Smith 104). The “cosmic father” is portrayed as angry in order for humans to reflect on why he is sullen. When readers recognize that the “father” does not care about humanity, they may reconsider what is causing the lack of care. Is it humanity's destruction of Earth? Is it the human race fighting against one another instead of loving each other? These are questions reader’s will ask themselves throughout Tracy Smith’s poetry. Smith offers a variety of comprehensible language, which allows readers to reflect on their lives on Earth, so they consider how their actions affect them now, and how they may have an influence on their life after death.
Tracy K.

Smith also uses her father's work with the Hubble Telescope to symbolize change within humanity, which furthers the growth of understanding space. When talking about the telescope, Smith states, “The first few pictures came back blurred, and I felt ashamed / For all the cheerful engineers, my father and his tribe. The second time, / The optics jibed. We saw to the edge of all there is--” (101-103). Smith describes the telescope in a way that can metaphorically be translated to the human race. The telescope failed with the first few pictures. However, the second time, the pictures changed and came back awe-inspiring. Humanity is sometimes clouded by poor actions, like the pictures, but people change and society grows, hopefully for the better. Smith wants readers to learn from her father, as well as from her writing. She incorporates images and symbols that help people comprehend her ideas of the unknown, which facilitates their ability to envision the universe. One author writes on So To Speak, “The telescope allowed us to see the universe as never before, and now come Smith’s words to show us even more of it.” Smith’s father aided in unlocking a pathway for people to explore space on a deeper level. Her father wanted to explore, and Smith states that he was “hungry for what it would find” (95). Smith’s father was eager to learn more about space, and now his daughter is pursuing a path through her writing that allows people to learn and think about space in a different perspective. As Smith sees “We [learn] new words for things. The decade [changes]” (100), the author wants people to seek change within their own lives, so there will be a better outcome in the future. People have improved language from the past; the pictures returned with a better result. Smith hopes humans, too, can initiate a change that will conclude in a better result. Smith uses the telescope as a metaphor for human kind, so people understand that there can be a change and with a

change may be a brighter future about the knowledge of space and how our lives correlate with it.
Throughout the poem “My God It’s Full of Stars,” Tracy Smith delves into her thoughts about the universe, life after death, and the correlation of it all with existing human life. Including images that people can comprehend makes them more likely to understand life outside of Earth by relating it to Earth. Smith encourages readers to think about the lives they live in order to ultimately gain a greater understanding of the universe surrounding humanity. If people begin to understand that humans are connected to the universe encompassing them, they may develop a change in their actions. Smith explores many possibilities provoking readers to think deeply about the actions people partake in. If humans want to move towards understanding space and its relations to humans, people must first understand relations within the human-kind.