Poem Analysis: Pull The Next One Up By Marc Smith

“Society does not consist of individuals but expresses the sum of interrelations , the relations within which these individuals stand” by Karl Marx. The poem “Pull the Next One Up” by Marc Smith expresses that same quote with the reader as a mountain climber reaching the top of a mountain roped together with countless others. Through many elemental forms he creates the sensation of an accomplishment shared with everyone else climbing the mountain. Representing the mountain's and rope as the big symbols in the piece Marc Smith understates the struggles of the world with our society. Incorporating all of these layers of the poem, the overall point being made is that our accomplishments will not flourish with our society when carried out in vain.
For a start, the line in the last paragraph “When you ask how high is this mountain” (23) it furthers goes into “Where you stand in relationship to other peaks” (25) the poet asks you to look down from the top to express that it doesn’t matter because it won’t help you get any higher. Subsequently, the next two lines are right after each other, but express one meaning, “Never mind the flags you see flapping on conquered pinnacles” (32), “Don’t waste time scratching inscriptions into the monolith” (33) because of the line in the last paragraph as well “You are the stone itself” (34) it opens you up to see that marking your accomplishments won’t define you anymore than what you have done except to keep climbing.
 Furthermore, the poem enforces that only focusing on your own glory will never get society to a higher standing in life. Provided in this example with nice imagery going from the line “To hold all the hanging bodies” (47) to “Dangling in the deep recesses of the mountain’s belly” (48) painting a nice picture of how far someone us of need to go, but by hanging on to your ego some might not make it up. However, if you lead by example and you help the next person up, it will show, and everyone hanging down the mountain “Until they understand” (51), “That the only courage there is is” (52) which goes into helping the next person,
At the very beginning when you reach the mountain you’re asked “Pull the next one up” (2), and from there, after satisfied with what you two achieved, the other climber lends his hand to “Pull the next hand over” (13), showing you a chain reaction to a good deed. In the middle when you steer away from vanity, he enforces that with the rope being “Tied to the next man’s waist” (27) and “To first woman’s waist… and pull the rope!” (31) making you think that is the only thing to truly do. Then by the end of it when all the hanging bodies are in the mountain’s belly and the poem is expressing the doubt of all the other climbers the poet repeats more “To pull the next man up” (54) and “Pull the next up” (56) ending with “Up” (57) and “Up” (58) representing as long as you help others with their struggles society can only go “up”. Altogether, Marc Smith writes clear sensations from a mountain top establishing an immersing feeling for the reader to understand that, when depicting the poem, it is the same feeling people get when helping others through life’s challenges. From the very beginning to the very end, imagery, metaphors, and repetition implement what the poet was trying to get across to anyone who read his poem. Hoping the chain reaction you discovered, the poem would cause a chain reaction