Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Sky Harbor" by Norman Dubie presents a melancholic scene at an airport, weaving together themes of memory, transience, and the human condition against the backdrop of travel and separation. The poem uses vivid imagery and subtle interactions to evoke a sense of quiet introspection and existential reflection.

The poem begins with a flock of pigeons rising over the roof, introducing the setting of an airport with "shimmering asphalt fields" of dull-colored airliners. This image of mundane yet massive machines sets a tone of industrialized, impersonal movement contrasted with the natural, fleeting movement of the pigeons.

In this environment, we meet a young brunette sitting before the "long darkening glass" of the airport's west wall. The imagery here suggests a transition from day to night, a symbol of change and fading light, which mirrors the internal state of the woman. She is enveloped in sensory experiences: the smell of coffee and mothballs evoking memories of home and the past, perhaps suggesting her distance from these comforts now.

The woman's interaction with her surroundings is minimal yet significant. Her blouse smelling of anise and the heat of an iron, along with her action of brushing sleep from her hair, suggest a personal moment of preparation or recovery, perhaps from the fatigue of travel or the emotional weight of her journey.

The narrator then reveals, "I have been dead for hours," introducing a spectral voice that adds a layer of eerie detachment or perhaps a reflective, posthumous perspective. This revelation shifts the poem into a contemplative space, where the living continue their mundane activities, unaware of the narrator's presence.

As the poem progresses to its conclusion, the woman descends into Seattle, anxious about the city lights "climbing to meet her flight." The imagery of ascending lights as she descends enhances the feeling of an inevitable, perhaps unwanted, convergence. The old man next to her, who recognizes her and whispers, "nothing happens. Nothing ever happens," imparts a nihilistic note, suggesting a resignation to the monotony and existential emptiness of life.

Overall, "Sky Harbor" captures a moment of human life within the vast, impersonal spaces of modern travel, highlighting the isolation and fleeting connections that characterize much of human experience. The poem subtly critiques the grand narratives of progress and movement by focusing on the quiet, internal world of its characters, suggesting that beneath the bustling activity of places like airports, there lies a profound stillness and sameness to human life.

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