57). Yet the universal allusions used in each poem span both the cultural differences as well as their time period, and share a common thread in their view of life.Starting with the title, “80-Proof”(Ammons, p. 1021), the use of numerical symbols and reference to alcohol is obvious. The poet’s use of “fifth” for bookends beginning with “A fifth of me’s me” (1) and ending with “fifth by fifth” (18), coupled with the reference to “chaser” (2) gives the reader a direct link to the title and completes the framework. The lines in between describe the physical body made of bones, nerves, veins and membranes, which sidetracks the reader into thinking that the poet is just describing the body in terms of pieces. However, the meaning is perhaps revealed toward the end with “achieve a whole” (19), which takes these pieces and makes the transformation from alcohol to a “highly transcendental” (20) individual. The overall effect is getting down to the true self and deciding whether to go “100% spiritual” (17) or “retain the shallow stain” (16). Lines 10 and 11, “strip out nerves & veins/ & permeable membranes,” give allusion to the destructiveness of alcohol on the body and spirit. Optimistically there is hope for recovery; pessimistically there remains so little of the real self on which to rebuild. It’s like trying to get to the point by peeling away, layer by layer, all the coverings on the “true self” (4), until all that remains is “a greasy spot” (13). When the poem arrives at the bottom; i.e., the alcoholic hits rock bottom, there is a decision to be made -- whether to stay there or rebuild the body back to the whole. The numerical symbols provide the dots for the reader to connect when forming his mental image and his interpretation of the poem’s meaning.The similari...
