Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Jane Kenyon’s poem “Three Songs at the End of Summer” captures the complex emotions and vivid sensory experiences associated with the close of summer. Through three distinct vignettes, Kenyon explores themes of change, memory, and the poignant passage of time.

The poem opens with a scene of rural life: “A second crop of hay lies cut / and turned. Five gleaming crows / search and peck between the rows.” This imagery sets a tranquil, pastoral tone, evoking the rhythm of agricultural cycles. The crows, with their “low, companionable squawk,” bring a sense of continuity and ritual to the scene. Kenyon's comparison of the crows to “midwives and undertakers” imbues them with a dual role in the cycle of life and death, symbolizing both beginnings and endings.

The speaker then shifts to the garden, which “sprawls and spoils,” suggesting the inevitable decay that follows summer’s peak. The crickets parting “like the Red Sea” as the speaker walks through the stubble reinforces the biblical imagery and the sense of transition. Across the lake, the sounds of a summer camp instructor’s megaphone—“Relax! Relax!”—filter through the hazy air, highlighting the contrast between human activity and the natural world preparing for fall.

Kenyon’s keen observation continues with “Cloud shadows rush over drying hay, / fences, dusty lane, and railroad ravine.” The fleeting shadows mirror the fleeting nature of summer. The appearance of goldenrod, signaling the approach of autumn, adds a touch of brightness to the scene. The final lines of the first section—“Schoolbooks, carpools, pleated skirts; / water, silver-still, and a vee of geese”—juxtapose the routines of the approaching school year with the serene image of migrating geese, blending the human and natural cycles.

The second vignette shifts to a more introspective tone: “The cicada’s dry monotony breaks / over me. The days are bright / and free, bright and free.” The repetitive chirping of cicadas underscores the lingering summer heat and the persistent, almost oppressive, sense of time passing. The speaker’s sudden, overwhelming emotional response—“why did I cry today / for an hour, with my whole / body, the way babies cry?”—reveals a deep, inexplicable sadness, contrasting with the outward brightness and freedom of the days.

The third section brings a poignant memory from the speaker’s childhood: “A white, indifferent morning sky, / and a crow, hectoring from its nest / high in the hemlock, a nest as big / as a laundry basket.” The crow’s persistent cawing evokes a sense of foreboding. The speaker recalls waiting for the school bus “under a dripping oak,” enveloped in “autumnal fog” and a deep-seated dread. The organic scent of the damp dirt road evokes a visceral connection to the past.

The memory of school supplies—“new books—words, numbers, / and operations with numbers I did not / comprehend—and crayons, unspoiled / by use”—captures the mixture of excitement and fear that accompanies the start of the school year. The final image of the speaker standing “at the side of the road” feeling “inadequate, and alien” emphasizes the isolation and vulnerability of childhood. The concluding line, “It was the only life I had,” encapsulates the inevitability of these experiences, suggesting a resigned acceptance of the past.

In “Three Songs at the End of Summer,” Jane Kenyon masterfully blends vivid imagery with introspective reflection, capturing the bittersweet transition from summer to autumn. Through her precise and evocative language, she explores the interplay between the external world and internal emotions, inviting readers to reflect on their own experiences of change, memory, and the passage of time. The poem’s structure, moving from the present to a deeply personal past, underscores the enduring impact of these seasonal transitions on our lives.

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