An Explication of "THE COLTRANE IN YOU"
"THE COLTRANE IN YOU" is a masterful tribute from the speaker, poet Joel Dias-Porter, to his esteemed contemporary, the poet Terrance Hayes. The speaker dedicates the poem to Hayes as "il miglior fabbro" ("the better craftsman"), a reverent nod to T.S. Eliot's dedication to Ezra Pound. The poem analyzes the nature of Hayes's artistic genius through the primary metaphor of John Coltrane's spiritual and improvisational music, brilliantly embedding the titles of at least six of Hayes's own books as the ultimate homage.
Stanza 1
> By which I mean
> either the angel
> or lion
> that nightly probes
> the last oh
> of whatever emotion
> your dark matter
> splays open.
>
The poem defines the "Coltrane" in Hayes as a powerful duality: something divine and graceful ("angel") and something fierce and primal ("lion"). This creative force probes the deepest, most essential core of emotion—the final "oh" of awe or pain—that emerges from the vast, mysterious, and foundational "dark matter" of Hayes's inner world.
Stanza 2
> Meaning inky-haired
> & lightheaded,
> you begin to trace
> circles at your center
> pondering if
> in a reunion
> of broken things
> a portrait of the Beloved
> could be Euler’s Identity?
>
This stanza places Hayes in a state of contemplative creation. He is "lightheaded," a direct allusion to his National Book Award-winning collection, Lighthead. From this space, he poses a profound, hypothetical question: If one were to use the symbolic language of algebraic notation (from "a reunion of broken things," the literal meaning of al-jabr) to create a portrait of the Beloved (divine unity), would the resulting masterpiece be Euler’s Identity (e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0)? This is a metaphor for the artistic quest to render a perfect, transcendent truth through a chosen medium.
Stanza 3
> Meaning since the tint
> can serve at least half the sound
> and apostasy can loiter
> on the tongue as a lozenge,
> both of you—cartographers
> of a changing terrain—
> seek to phrase
> which shade of faith
> versus gothic of god
> moves past mere ode or elegy.
>
Here, the speaker observes a shared mission between Hayes and Coltrane ("both of you"). He sees them as fellow "cartographers" exploring the complex modern terrain of faith and art. They both seek a new creative language ("seek to phrase") to express nuanced, personal spirituality ("shade of faith") over rigid dogma ("gothic of god"), creating work that transcends simple forms.
Stanza 4
> Meaning at the wheel
> of the warship of worship
> you vie for the root of unity
> to unravel extended chords
> which move to maroon
> in the bluest mountains
> of duende.
>
This stanza describes the intensity of Hayes's creative drive as both a battle and an act of devotion ("warship of worship"). He seeks mathematical purity ("root of unity") to deconstruct musical and poetic forms ("unravel extended chords") and reach a state of deep, soulful, and dark creative power, which the poem identifies with Lorca's concept of duende.
Stanza 5
> Meaning certain starred charts
> —once incomplete—
> soon become guide
> in a bitter suite
> as incensed ropes of smoke
> muscle music from hunger
> ...
> or query the angel
> and lion of Evangelion.
>
The creative process is portrayed as a difficult musical journey ("bitter suite"). The verse itself is described with an allusion to Hayes's debut collection, Muscular Music, evoking a powerful and primal poetry born from creative desire. This desire leads the artist to engage with foundational spiritual texts. The "angel and lion of Evangelion" refers not to anime, but to the symbols of the New Testament evangelists Matthew (the angel) and Mark (the lion), showing Hayes's art directly questioning the Gospels.
Stanza 6
> Meaning the same L
> which links them—
> archaic name
> for god or
> vernacular for loss—
> may seek certain
> words in the world.
>
A moment of pure linguistic play that highlights Hayes's dexterity. The speaker notes that the "L" sound connects "angel" and "lion," while also being the root of the archaic name for God ("El") and modern slang for defeat ("loss"). It suggests Hayes's poetry finds profound meaning in these layered coincidences.
Stanza 7
> Meaning what if
> the “good news”
> also concludes
> the Beloved
> favors Apophenia?
> ...
> surely the second O
> of said emotion
> can become ensō
> in modulation,
>
This stanza identifies Apophenia—the ability to find meaningful patterns everywhere—as a key to Hayes's genius, suggesting the Divine favors this creative method. A simple sound, like the "o" in emotion, can be artistically transformed into an ensō: a Zen Buddhist circle representing a moment of enlightenment and completion.
Stanza 8
> meaning how
> to be drawn
> into a circle of fifths
> or to Picasso keys
> into a piano’s grand motif?
> Do we re-choir
> the Acknowledgement
> of our father?
>
This section contains another direct book title allusion: How to Be Drawn. It poses questions central to artistic creation: How does one enter formal structures ("circle of fifths") while also deconstructing them like a cubist ("to Picasso keys")? The clever pun on "require" ("re-choir") while referencing "Acknowledgement," the first part of Coltrane's A Love Supreme, links Hayes's artistic struggle to Coltrane's spiritual one.
Stanza 9
> Meaning a relative minor
> to greater absolve
> any resolve for Resolution
> or a full-hipped logic
> to Bearden the burden
> of our double basis
> until battered sticks shatter...
>
This stanza is a dense node of references. It alludes to Hayes's book Hip Logic through the phrase "full-hipped logic." It honors the collage artist Romare Bearden ("to Bearden the burden"), praising Hayes's ability to layer traditions. It also contains the mathematical/musical pun of "double basis" / "double bassist," linking abstract concepts to the jazz ensemble.
Stanza 10
> Meaning since a talent
> may also be a weight,
> your gift gives pause—
> before purpling
> in turbulent Pursuance
> of relief,
> wind from a box
> spilling uncertain bottled spirits
> —e pluribus unum—
> as if God is an American
> Sonnet massaged
> into Wanda’s hands.
>
This stanza explores the immense power of Hayes's gift. It references another part of A Love Supreme ("Pursuance") and two more of his book titles: Wind in a Box and American Sonnets. Crucially, the speaker acknowledges the lineage of this form. The "American Sonnet," as manifested by Hayes, was first shaped and "massaged" into existence by the pioneering hands of the poet Wanda Coleman, a beautiful tribute to a poetic ancestor.
Stanza 11
> Meaning what
> of his or your
> four enchanted
> or merely chanted
> syllables bobbing
> about a Brooks theory
> of the lyric between lines
> which nightly now—
> as the angel or lion
> conflates and conflicts
> —begin to twist
> towards wholly writ.
>
The final stanza places Hayes in the great lineage of the poet Gwendolyn Brooks. The core theme that animates both Coltrane's ("his") and Hayes's ("your") work is identified as the four chanted syllables of the mantra "A Love Su-preme." This spiritual phrase is the ultimate force that resolves the artist's inner "angel or lion" duality, pushing the work toward a sacred and complete status: "wholly writ," a final, perfect pun on "holy writ."
