Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Anne Sexton's "Eighteen Days Without You: December 1st" captures the deep sense of loss and melancholy that accompanies the absence of a loved one during the winter season. The poem is rich with imagery that contrasts the festive, outward celebration of the holiday season with the speaker’s internal experience of loneliness and sorrow. The repetition of certain lines and the bleak, wintry setting contribute to the feeling of emptiness and longing that permeates the poem.

The poem begins with a farewell kiss marked by a "little frown," suggesting that even in the act of parting, there is an undercurrent of sadness or unease. This moment of goodbye sets the tone for the rest of the poem, where the speaker reflects on the world around her in the absence of her loved one. The "Christ's lights" that are "twinkling all over town" serve as a stark reminder of the festive season, a time typically associated with warmth, joy, and togetherness. However, for the speaker, these lights only highlight the contrast between the external celebrations and her internal desolation.

The imagery of the "broken and brown" cornstalks in the field mirrors the speaker's sense of being broken by the absence of her loved one. The natural world around her is also in a state of decay, with the "pond at the year's end" turning "her gray eyelid down," a personification that suggests the closing of the year and a symbolic closing of hope or vitality. The repetition of the line "Christ's lights are / twinkling all over town" reinforces the idea that, while the world continues to celebrate, the speaker is stuck in a state of grief and loss.

As the poem progresses, the speaker observes "a cat-green ice" spreading over the front lawn, an image that conveys both the coldness of the season and the unnatural, eerie quality of her emotional state. The "hemlocks," described as "the only young thing left," stand in stark contrast to the decay and barrenness of the winter landscape. However, even this symbol of life and youth is tinged with sorrow, as it serves as a reminder of what is absent—her loved one.

The speaker's experience of the night is one of restless hibernation: "I hibernated under the covers / last night, not sleeping until dawn." This line captures the sense of trying to escape the cold reality through sleep, but even sleep is elusive. The dawn, typically a symbol of hope or renewal, comes up "like twilight," a metaphor that blurs the line between night and day, suggesting that the speaker finds no relief from her sorrow in the new day. The oak leaves "whispering like money" suggest the persistence of old, perhaps unresolved, thoughts or worries—those "hangers on" that refuse to let go, much like the lingering pain of absence.

The repetition of the line "The hemlocks are the only / young thing left. You are gone" at the poem's end underscores the finality and the inescapable reality of loss. The youth and life represented by the hemlocks only serve to emphasize the absence of the loved one, leaving the speaker alone with her thoughts in a world that continues to move forward without the one she longs for.

In "Eighteen Days Without You: December 1st," Sexton masterfully conveys the deep, aching void left by the absence of a loved one, particularly during a time when the world around her is celebrating. Through her use of wintry, desolate imagery and the repetition of key lines, Sexton captures the speaker’s sense of being out of sync with the world, stuck in a moment of grief and longing that contrasts sharply with the external festivities. The poem is a poignant reflection on the passage of time, the persistence of memory, and the difficulty of moving forward when someone you love is no longer there.

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