Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Linda Pastan's poem "The Ordinary Weather of Summer" masterfully captures the rhythms and emotions of summer, using the season's familiar imagery to explore themes of relationship dynamics, the passage of time, and the inescapable reality of mortality. Through vivid descriptions of both the natural world and human interactions, Pastan creates a narrative that is as much about the ordinary experiences of summer as it is about the deeper, underlying truths of life.

The poem opens with a description of "the ordinary weather of summer," setting the scene with storms "rumbling from west to east / like so many freight trains hauling / their cargo of heat and rain." This metaphor likens summer storms to freight trains, emphasizing their power and inevitability as they move across the landscape. The image of storms carrying "heat and rain" conveys the intensity and unpredictability of summer weather, setting the stage for the emotional turbulence that follows in the poem.

The dogs, "sprawl[ing] on the back steps, panting," and the insects "assembl[ing] at every window" create a sense of lethargy and discomfort, typical of hot summer days. These details ground the poem in the physical realities of the season, but they also serve as a backdrop to the human drama that unfolds. The speaker and their partner "quarrel again, bombarding / each other with small grievances," reflecting the way in which the oppressive heat can exacerbate tensions and lead to conflicts. The comparison of their tempers to "bursts of heat lightning" is particularly effective, capturing the sudden, fleeting nature of these arguments—intense flashes of anger that quickly dissipate, much like summer lightning.

As the day cools, so too does the tension between the speaker and their partner. In the "cooler air of morning," they drink coffee "amicably enough" and walk down to the sea, which "seems to tremble with meaning." This shift in tone suggests a temporary resolution, where the calm of the morning and the ritual of coffee provide a momentary respite from the previous day's heat and discord. The sea, often a symbol of vastness and mystery, "trembles with meaning," hinting at the deeper emotional currents that lie beneath the surface of their relationship. The act of plunging "again and again" into the sea suggests a repeated attempt to cleanse or renew themselves, to wash away the remnants of their quarrel and reconnect with each other and with nature.

As the days "continue hot," the poem moves into the evening, where "the shadows are as blue / as the lips of the children stained / with berries or with the chill / of too much swimming." This imagery of blue shadows and berry-stained lips evokes a sense of both innocence and foreboding, capturing the dual nature of summer as a time of joy and play, but also of potential danger and overindulgence. The children's lips, blue from either berries or cold, symbolize the thin line between pleasure and discomfort, a recurring theme in the poem.

The poem concludes with a reflection on the passage of time: "So we move another summer closer / to our last summer together." This line introduces a sobering realization, acknowledging that each summer brings them closer to the end of their time together. The phrase "our last summer together" is poignant, serving as a reminder of the inevitability of aging and mortality. The following lines reinforce this theme, as the speaker and their partner emerge from the sea "on wobbly legs as if for the first time," suggesting both the fragility of life and the constant renewal that comes with each new experience. The act of "drying ourselves with rough towels" and "shaking the water out of our blinded eyes" represents the process of recovering clarity and perspective after being immersed in the sea, a metaphor for the emotional depths they have navigated.

"The Ordinary Weather of Summer" is a richly textured poem that captures the fleeting nature of both the season and life itself. Through its vivid imagery and careful attention to the details of summer, Pastan explores the complexities of relationships, the inevitability of change, and the bittersweet awareness of time's passage. The poem invites readers to reflect on the beauty and transience of ordinary moments, and the ways in which they shape our understanding of love, conflict, and mortality.

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