Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Same River, Twice" by Dick Allen is a reflection on the nature of time, memory, and the constant flux within the permanence of our experiences. The poem navigates through a seemingly simple act of revisiting a river, yet unfolds into a profound exploration of the human condition, relationships, and the elusive nature of change.

The title itself is a nod to the Heraclitean adage that one cannot step into the same river twice, for it's not the same river and they're not the same person. Allen's poem, however, challenges this notion by depicting a couple who deliberately reenters the river, hoping to encounter the familiar yet finding themselves ensnared in the paradox of sameness within change.

As they step into the river, expectations of disruption hang in the air, hinting at the inherent tension between the desire for permanence and the inevitability of change. The anticipation of something to "quake, or vanish, or beat its wings" underscores the human longing for moments of transcendence or deviation from the mundane, yet what they find is a scene untouched by time, eerily identical to their memory.

The detailed imagery of the natural setting—the stand of maples, the drifting rowboat, the sunlight's slant, the green rushes—serves not only to anchor the poem in a tangible reality but also to highlight the complexity of perceiving time. The meticulous replication of their previous visit, down to the cardinal's red flash and the turtle's position, blurs the lines between past and present, suggesting that while the external world remains constant, it is their internal landscapes that have shifted.

Allen masterfully uses the river as a metaphor for time and consciousness, flowing endlessly, ever-changing yet seemingly static to the casual observer. The act of skipping a stone, with its predictable yet unique ripples, symbolizes the human impulse to interact with and disturb the natural order, to leave a mark, however fleeting.

The poem's contemplation on memory and its reliability—or lack thereof—raises questions about the authenticity of our experiences and the narratives we construct around them. Are they merely "memory, false at that, an eddy, a singularity?" The couple's realization that everything is as it was, yet they are irrevocably altered by time, speaks to the core of the human experience: the search for meaning and connection in a world that is both eternal and ephemeral.

"Same River, Twice" culminates in a moment of acceptance and wonder at the "wonderful impossibility" of life's continuity amidst change. Allen leaves the reader pondering the mysteries of existence, the beauty of shared moments, and the river of time that carries us all, ever the same, ever different.

POEM TEXT: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=38299

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