Poem by Edward Hirsch: ‘The Custodian’

Edward Hirsch didn’t always write poetry for a living. He is a waiter. train brakeman, garbage collector; He worked in a chemical factory and a box factory. “You never forget,” he told an interviewer once. “What does it mean to punch the clock?” Perhaps for that reason So he often writes articles. It’s about labor: the quiet dignity of getting something done. It’s that sense of purpose that pulls many of us out of bed every morning. How to make even the small, straightforward things work Be able to structure your own life day. The work is strangely absent from most contemporary poetry. he said In 2018, even though “most people’s lives are consumed by their work,” his archive is editable.

In “The Custodian,” the synagogue janitor performs his menial duties, such as dusting the scrolls, folding the tall poles, and turning off the lights. Chores are mundane. But he did his job with respect and thoroughness, and in that sense he contributed to the sacred experience of the congregants. Shomer—Caretakers or guardians — play an important role in Judaism. This may involve staying with the corpse until it is buried. or ensuring that the ingredients used in the kitchen are kosher. It’s not much different from the general meaning. caretaker: someone who takes care of something Something really sacred Hirsch seemed to suggest that It’s not just the sparkling stained glass of a synagogue or the elegant notes of an organ. or even a prayer It’s the little cares people take every day. Just because, as Hirsch once wrote in another poem, “That’s the job.–

When he wrote this poem, Hirsch had long since retired from manual labor. He was well versed in Jewish traditions. What if we read it as an autobiography? Why does he say he spent “his whole life” like a janitor? I wonder if it has anything to do with Hirsch’s career. as a writer He is basically an observer. By attempting to record or interpret experiences from a distance. Caregivers are also working remotely. to take care of something You must stand apart from it. But the two workers dispelled something supernatural. For the janitor, however fleeting, it was the temple’s songs, rituals, and devotions. For Hirsch, perhaps they were flashes of beauty or fragments of reality that he might not have fully captured or understood. completely—but can attempt to save and thus protect Both ventures had little to do with glory. Each one is just an honest effort emerging each day. That’s why the two are so profound.

You can expand the page. here–