Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Susan Wheeler’s "Poem" is a brief, poignant meditation on memory, love, and the complex interplay between absence and presence. Its economy of language invites readers to linger on each line, uncovering layers of meaning and emotion within its spare, evocative imagery.

The opening stanza establishes a scene of familial detachment and finality: "My mother wouldn’t stand up / to wave. My father made certain / the door locked behind me." These lines convey a sense of rejection or perhaps protective control, with the mother’s inaction and the father’s deliberate gesture underscoring an emotional and physical closure. The locked door becomes a symbol of separation, an irreversible boundary that isolates the speaker from their origins.

The poem’s tone shifts with the second stanza, introducing a contrast between the closed door of the past and the openness of a new connection: "But when I went for your door / you came too." Here, the "you" offers an immediacy and intimacy that contrasts with the parental figures in the first stanza. The gesture of coming to meet the speaker suggests mutuality, a willingness to bridge the gap between them.

The central image—"Your mouth / made a flute of my arm, / its music a glass on the past"—is strikingly tender and metaphorical. The transformation of the speaker’s arm into a flute suggests vulnerability and a willingness to be shaped or played upon, while the music created becomes a lens through which the past is reflected and understood. The juxtaposition of sound and sight—the music as a "glass on the past"—captures the synesthetic power of memory, how love and connection can reframe and reinterpret earlier experiences.

In the final lines, "My love, my love, went its song. / Now there is no need to leave," the speaker acknowledges the transient nature of love ("went its song") while finding solace in the present. The repetition of "my love" conveys both longing and a quiet affirmation of its impact. The declaration that "there is no need to leave" suggests a resolution or acceptance, a moment of stillness and contentment after the turbulence implied in the earlier stanzas.

Wheeler’s choice of form—compact and unadorned—amplifies the emotional resonance of the poem. Each line carries weight, and the sparseness of the language mirrors the fragility of the emotions it explores. The transitions between familial detachment, romantic intimacy, and personal reconciliation are seamless, capturing the complexities of relationships and the ways they shape our understanding of self and past.

At its core, "Poem" is a meditation on connection—what we leave behind, what we find, and how love can transform and reconcile our experiences. Through its quiet, deliberate imagery and measured language, Wheeler creates a powerful reflection on the enduring interplay between memory, loss, and the moments of grace that allow us to stay.

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