Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Equinox" by Weldon Kees is a haunting and evocative poem that explores themes of isolation, memory, and the relentless passage of time. Through vivid imagery and a stark depiction of a desolate winter landscape, Kees captures the profound despair and disorientation of an elderly woman in the twilight of her life.

The poem opens with a rich visual description: "Under lack lace the hall s wil chines and nods, / A melon seasoned in this winter sun, / Bare, yellowed, finial / Above the claw-and-ball-foot chair that mourns / North toward the frozen window and the bay." This image sets the scene in a dimly lit, somber interior, where the objects and furniture seem to mourn the passage of time and the onset of winter. The use of "lack lace" and "bare, yellowed" evokes a sense of decay and neglect, emphasizing the loneliness of the setting.

The poem then shifts to the natural world outside, where "The gulls / Rise in a long line off the rocks, steer / For the lighthouse, shadowing the boats / That toss, abandoned, far beyond the point." The image of the abandoned boats and the gulls' shadowing flight conveys a sense of abandonment and desolation, mirroring the inner state of the poem's central figure. The "heaped vestiges of fish" consuming the coast further reinforce the theme of decay and the harshness of the environment.

The focus then turns to the woman herself, whose "life is sleep, and pain." The harsh winter landscape reflects her internal suffering and isolation: "The black mantilla creaks with frost; red eyes / Break through the rinds of flesh, blur / Toward the dripping faucet and the last cans of / Spaghetti and baked beans, corroding on the shelves." This stark depiction of her physical deterioration and the meager remnants of sustenance on the shelves underscores her dire situation.

Kees delves into the woman's fragmented memories and confused state of mind: "If she could think, / Her eighty years would bend toward Spain— / Shadows of santos, crowds swarming in the heat, / Plumes, awnings, shields, the sun six hours high . . ." These lines evoke a distant past filled with warmth and vibrant life, contrasting sharply with her current frozen and desolate surroundings. Her belief that "this coast is Switzerland" highlights her disorientation and the blurring of reality and memory.

The poem paints a bleak picture of the village around her, where "Smoke from the village chimneys died. No lights burn / In windows of the cottages. Over the vacant docks / The birds are featureless, but her sight fails / Where these walls end." This imagery underscores the complete abandonment and the fading of life in the village, paralleling her own decline.

Kees concludes with a powerful depiction of the woman's final struggle: "Exile without remembrance, / Spawned in the heat to perish in this cold, / Ravaged by paresis, and her sight at last / A blackness in the blood, she moves her chair / Inch by excruciating inch, her face / Steered-raw, blank, aching-toward the beans: / The last survivor of the human race." The image of her painfully moving toward the last cans of beans encapsulates her relentless will to survive despite her suffering and isolation. Her designation as "the last survivor of the human race" underscores the profound loneliness and existential despair that permeates the poem.

"Equinox" by Weldon Kees is a deeply moving meditation on the ravages of time, memory, and the inevitability of decline. Through its stark imagery and poignant narrative, the poem captures the essence of human frailty and the desolate beauty of life's final moments.

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