To Enter That Rhythm Where The Self Is Lost by Muriel Rukeyser

     Muriel Rukeyser (December 15, 1913 – February 12, 1980) was an American poet and political activist, best known for her poems about equality, feminism, social justice, and Judaism. She was a progressive political activist for most of her life.Her poem "To be a Jew in the Twentieth Century" (1944), was adopted by a Jewish group and added to their prayer books. She attended Columbia University and private schools for her young adult life. She died in New York of a stroke caused by her diabetes in 1980.

To Enter That Rhythm Where The Self Is Lost

To enter that rhythm where the self is lost where breathing: heartbeat: and the subtle music of their relation make our dance, and hasten us to the moment when all things become magic, another possibility.
That blind moment, midnight, when all sight begins, and the dance itself is all our breath, and we ourselves the moment of life and death.
Blinded; but given now another saving, the self as vision, at all times perceiving, all arts all sense being languages, delivered of will, being transformed in truth - for life's sake surrendering moment and images, writing the poem; in love making; bringing to birth.

Muriel Rukeyser


In this poem by Muriel Rukeyser we see deep thoughts on the feminist movement during this time. Considering that this is at the height of the feminist movement in the 20th century we can easily see why she decided to address this as such. In the poem we see Rukeyser describing a scene of intimacy filled with vivid imagery. She describes a place in which the moment is inviting the reader and the "characters" in the story to join in on common experiences. I say "characters", because although not expressly stated the point of view describes the intimacy almost as if the narrator is experiencing this while telling the story. Rukeyser blends the ideas of love making and the intensity of it. She shows through this images that women should not be the lesser of two rather the greater, and if not that, then the equal at the very least. She characterizes the sexual desire of women to show that however different men and women may seem that they actually are not all that different. Their lusts and desires tend to be the same. she uses sex as a medium to spread this feminist view. I would have to guess that she uses sex, because it it such an intimate act, as well as an act that was not usually talked about. Making it a shocking poem, allowing it to better attract the attention of the readers.