Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

James Schuyler's poem "In Wiry Winter" intricately weaves together the cold, clear images of winter with the fleeting warmth of sunlight and the ephemeral presence of a bird. The poem captures the essence of a cold winter day, where even the smallest traces of warmth are cherished and fleeting.

The poem opens with the swift movement of "The shadow of a bird upon the yard upon a house: it's gone." This line establishes a tone of impermanence, where even the simple presence of a bird is transient, here one moment and gone the next. The repetition of "upon" underscores the layering of this moment, as if the shadow itself leaves an imprint on both the yard and the house, marking the spaces it briefly touches.

As the poem continues, Schuyler introduces a beam of sunlight that enters through a window, described as "a warm hand laid upon an arm." This metaphor suggests a fleeting comfort, a tender but temporary warmth amidst the pervasive cold. The sunlight, though brief and delicate, offers a momentary respite from the chill of winter, likened to the warmth of human touch.

The imagery then shifts to the idea of swimming, first within the atmosphere—"A thin shell, trans-parent, blue: the atmosphere in which to swim"—and then more vividly in the cold air itself. The repetition of "swim" and "plunge" conveys a sense of movement and immersion, as if the speaker is attempting to navigate the coldness around them by transforming it into something almost fluid. The cold air becomes a medium through which one can move, even as it remains biting and harsh: "Burr. A cold plunge."

The bird returns, and the speaker imagines themselves "plunging upward, arms as wings, into calm cold." This imagined flight is a means of escape, of finding warmth "within the act" of motion. The contrast between the cold exterior and the warmth generated by movement creates a tension that runs throughout the poem, highlighting the dual nature of winter: simultaneously harsh and invigorating.

The poem continues to explore the idea of shadows—both the bird's shadow and the speaker's imagined shadow—as they move across "roofs and drives." The coldness of these shadows contrasts with the warmth found in the act of movement or flight. The line "The shadow cold but brief" emphasizes the transient nature of these experiences, as both the bird's presence and the warmth of the sun are fleeting.

Schuyler then brings the reader back to the reality of the "wiry winter air," where the imagined flight is not possible. The return to the physical world is marked by the cold touch of a window, "a hand upon the glass finds it a kind of ice." Here, the warmth of the earlier sunlight is contrasted with the literal coldness of the window, a "miraculous contrivance" that allows the sun's warmth to enter but also serves as a barrier to the outside cold.

The poem concludes with the bird once again, "quick as a wish to swim up and cast, like it, a shadow on the years." This final image suggests a longing for the fleeting moments of warmth and movement to leave a lasting impression, much like the shadow of the bird. The wish to "cast a shadow on the years" speaks to a desire for permanence in a world where everything—sunlight, warmth, even the presence of a bird—is transient and fleeting.

"In Wiry Winter" is a meditation on the fleeting nature of warmth and life in the midst of winter's cold. Through the delicate interplay of light, shadow, and movement, Schuyler captures the tension between the harshness of the season and the small, tender moments of warmth that make it bearable. The poem's imagery and metaphors invite the reader to experience winter not just as a time of cold, but as a complex season where even the briefest moments of light and warmth are deeply cherished.

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