Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Naomi Shihab Nye’s "The Time" is a meditation on the tension between creative ambition and the allure of simply living. The poem explores the way time moves unpredictably, how intention often gives way to distraction, and how life itself may ultimately be the poem we create. Through reflective musings, vivid imagery, and an understated humor, Nye captures the paradox of time—the way it both expands with possibility and slips away before we can fully grasp it.

The opening line asserts a plan: "Summer is the time to write." The speaker frames summer as an ideal creative season, a time designated for artistic focus. Yet, immediately, she follows with an admission: "I tell myself this / in winter especially." This self-awareness hints at a familiar contradiction—winter, with its stillness and indoor solitude, inspires the promise that summer will be productive. However, this framing also suggests an ongoing cycle of postponement, where the idea of an ideal writing season becomes a comforting excuse rather than a reality.

When summer actually arrives, the speaker’s instincts shift: "Summer comes, / I want to tumble with the river / over rocks and mossy dams." The structured plan to write is replaced with the desire to experience. The verb "tumble" suggests abandon, movement, and playfulness. Instead of sitting still to write, the speaker longs to flow with the river, to immerse herself in nature’s rhythms rather than imposing her own.

The following image reinforces this surrender to the season: "A fish drifting upside down." This could be read as an image of relaxation, of floating aimlessly, allowing the current to dictate direction. However, an upside-down fish also evokes lifelessness, an unsettling stillness that contrasts with the movement of the river. This duality—between drifting freely and feeling unmoored—mirrors the larger tension in the poem between intention and inaction, discipline and desire.

The introduction of music shifts the mood again: "Slow accordions sweeten the breeze." This line suggests an atmospheric richness, an environment filled with subtle joys. The accordions, traditionally associated with nostalgia and romance, enhance the sense that summer is something to be felt rather than controlled. The pace is "slow," reinforcing the unhurried, immersive nature of the season.

Then, an unexpected detail emerges: "The Sanitary Mattress Factory says, / ‘Sleep Is Life.’" This industrial sign, likely seen in passing, intrudes upon the speaker’s drifting thoughts. The phrase "Sleep Is Life" humorously echoes the poem’s underlying theme—should one embrace activity (writing, experiencing) or surrender to rest? The mattress factory, concerned with comfort and stillness, offers a philosophy that contrasts with the speaker’s original resolution to be productive. The irony is subtle but poignant: sleep, often dismissed as passive, is framed as an essential, defining force.

The next lines reveal the speaker’s restless mind: "Why do I think of forty ways / to spend an afternoon?" This moment of self-questioning acknowledges the constant pull of distraction. The specificity of "forty ways" emphasizes how abundant and varied these diversions are—writing is only one possibility among many. The question itself implies both amusement and frustration at how easily time fractures into endless choices.

A moment of borrowed wisdom follows: "Yesterday someone said, ‘It gets late so early.’ / I wrote it down." This observation about time’s elusiveness resonates deeply. The phrase "It gets late so early" compresses time, making clear how quickly days slip away, reinforcing the speaker’s realization that intentions often go unfulfilled. The act of writing it down suggests an attempt to preserve meaning, to capture fleeting insight before it disappears.

Yet, the speaker does not elaborate or analyze the phrase further. Instead, she offers a striking shift: "I was going to do something with it." This confession suggests that even the small act of writing something down does not guarantee it will be used, shaped, or turned into something more. This moment mirrors the larger theme—plans are made, but whether they lead to action is another matter entirely.

The final lines bring the poem full circle: "Maybe it is a title and this life is the poem." Here, Nye resolves the tension not by forcing productivity but by redefining the relationship between time and creation. Instead of regretting the lack of structured writing, the speaker suggests that life itself—its distractions, its experiences, its fluidity—is the poem. The thought reframes the entire piece: what if the act of living, of embracing the river, the music, the slow sweetness of summer, is the true creative work?

"The Time" is a meditation on the way time resists our plans, how the desire to create often competes with the desire to simply exist. Through gentle irony, shifting imagery, and a conversational yet lyrical tone, Naomi Shihab Nye presents a deeply relatable reflection on creativity, time, and the tension between intention and impulse. In the end, the poem suggests that perhaps the best way to write is not always to force words onto a page, but to recognize that the unfolding of life itself—its fleeting thoughts, its abandoned resolutions, its unexpected moments of beauty—is already a poem in progress.

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