Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Love Scenes" by John Ashbery presents a vivid, if somewhat abstract, exploration of love and its transformative power over time. The poem navigates through different stages and settings of a romantic relationship, using rich imagery and metaphor to convey complex emotions and experiences.

The opening line, "After ten years, my lamp / expired," metaphorically suggests the end of a period or phase in the poet's life. The lamp, possibly representing guidance, love, or inspiration, has run its course, leading the poet to initially believe that a significant part of his life has come to an end.

The scene then shifts to "the convenience store of spring," a metaphor that combines the renewal and growth associated with spring with the mundane, everyday experience of a convenience store. This setting implies a chance encounter that is both ordinary and serendipitous. The mention of meeting "someone who knew someone I loved" by the dairy case introduces a connection to the past, rekindling memories and emotions associated with a former love.

Ashbery's imagery is characteristically surreal and whimsical, as seen in the line "unwitting orangutans gambled for socks," which adds a playful, dreamlike quality to the poem. This could symbolize the randomness and unpredictability of love and relationships.

The phrase "a plaid puff of smoke / warned mere pleasures away" suggests a warning against superficial or fleeting pleasures in favor of something more substantial and meaningful. The poet and his acquaintance were "getting on famously," indicating a deep and immediate connection, likened to the idiom "like houses on fire," which means very well or rapidly.

The poem takes another turn with the line "At midterm I received permission / to go down to the city," indicating a transition to a new phase or opportunity in the poet's life. In the city, he reunites with his love, described as waiting "in shambles and not much else." This reunion is depicted as overwhelmingly blissful, likened to "a grand purgatorial / romance of kittens in a basket." The use of "purgatorial" suggests a sense of being in between states – neither fully blissful nor entirely painful, much like the complexities of real-life relationships.

The poem concludes with a call for purity and a shedding of the past ("to wash our hands of stones and seashells") as the poet's "poster" is metaphorically "plastered everywhere." This could imply the public or exposed nature of their relationship. The final lines, "When two people meet, the folds can fall / where they may. Leaves say it’s OK," embrace the natural, organic unfolding of a relationship, accepting its unpredictability and affirming that, like the leaves, it is a part of the natural order of things.

Overall, "Love Scenes" is a reflective and imaginative meditation on the nature of love, the passage of time, and the ever-changing dynamics of relationships. Ashbery’s characteristic blending of the ordinary with the surreal creates a multi-layered narrative that invites multiple interpretations.

POEM TEXT: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-03-20-bk-36135-story.html

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