They Feed They Lion

“Coming Home, Detroit 1968” by Philip Levine (1991)

A section of poems from They Feed They Lion (1972) appears in The New and Selected Poems (1991); among them is “Coming Home, Detroit 1968” in which the speaker addresses similar subjects as “They Feed They Lion.” The speaker observes a “brown child” (14) at a spotlight who “stares into [his] frozen eyes / until the lights change” (Lines 15-16). The buildings are described as having “charred faces, the eyes / boarded up” (Lines 17-18), showing how the fire has harmed the city building. The “the rubble of innards” (Line 18) compares the riot damage to an eviscerated body. The poem ends with “We burn this city everyday” (Line 21)—a sentiment echoed in “They Feed They Lion.”

“Detroit Grease Shop Poem” by Philip Levine (2013)

Posted by Terry Gross for National Public Radio’s Fresh Air, this poem can also be found in 5 Detroits, They Feed They Lion, and New Selected Poems. This poem takes place in 1952, at “Automotive / in the city of dreams” (Lines 14-15) and features “Eugene” (Line 18)—the coworker Levine credited with the title of “They Feed They Lion.” The “roof leaks” (Line 23) with the “waters gather[ing] above us / waiting for one mistake” (Lines 25-26). This suggests, like much of the imagery in “They Feed They Lion,” an anticipation of trouble. When a “drop falls” (Line 27) on one of the coworkers, he looks at it as if it’s “a single lucid meteor […] burning on his skin like a tear” (Lines 33-35). The idea of mourning the waste of human brilliance is conveyed similarly to “They Feed They Lion.”

“Saturday Sweeping” by Philip Levine (1991)

Originally part of 5 Detroits (1970) and They Feed They Lion (1972), “Saturday Sweeping” also deals with a speaker remembering “1952” (Line 25) and a “Detroit, unburned” (Lines 26). The speaker, however, personifies the city’s “useless / hands” (Lines 11-12), explaining how “[h]alf / the men in this town / are crying” (Lines 32-34) because economic hardship is hitting. This poem reveals that

the gates are closing

at Dodge Main

and Wyandotte

Chemical (Lines 38-41).

This is a key event leading to the later financial desperation in the heart of the city as shown in “They Feed They Lion.” Most of the men don’t know how to do anything else:

If anyone knocks

on your door

he’ll be

oil flecked or

sea born (Lines 48-52).

However, amid despair, the speaker perseveres. He sweeps the floor to achieve a sense of self-order, because “I’m my keeper, / the only thing / I’ve got” (Lines 67-69).