Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

The opening section sets the tone of reminiscence, with the speaker and a significant other reencountering the sensations and emotional landscapes of the past amidst the backdrop of wind and rain. The "hurting sound" juxtaposed with the "treasured rain falling on dark ground" suggests a bittersweet recollection, where pain and pleasure intermingle in the act of remembering. The imagery of "huddling birds" and "summer trembling on a withered vine" evokes a sense of fragility and transient beauty, emphasizing the fleeting nature of moments and memories. The "friendly ghost" of the loved one's presence underscores the enduring impact of relationships that continue to shape us even in absence.

The second section expands the scope of return to encompass a collective historical and cultural memory, with darkness transforming the immediate surroundings into a jungle reminiscent of ancestral homelands. This metaphorical journey bridges personal love with communal heritage, suggesting that the intimacy shared in the present is a continuation of ancient traditions. The "throb of rain" and "muffled drums," along with the "pendulums of vine," create an immersive atmosphere that connects the speaker and their companion to their forebears' experiences of love, survival, and connection to nature. The insistence on retaining the "dance of rain" is a call to preserve and celebrate these inherited rituals, asserting their significance in the continuity of identity and belonging.

With the cessation of the downpour, the third section invites the reader into a moment of transition and reflection. The speaker suggests a movement through the landscape, engaging with the natural world in a way that revitalizes and reenacts historical and personal memories. The "dry wind," the "old tree grieves," and the "metal waters burned / With gold of moon" are laden with symbolism, indicating a passage through time that both acknowledges loss and celebrates the cyclical rebirth of traditions and connections. The encounter with "the young spice trees" and the questioning radiance on the companion's face evoke a sense of discovery and reawakening to the wonders and mysteries of the shared journey.

The final section brings the speaker and the reader back to the present, "into the dusk again," where the memories and experiences of the past merge with the realities of contemporary life. The "old gray dream" symbolizes the return to routine and familiarity, yet enriched by the emotional and spiritual journey the poem has undertaken. The closing image of the couple, surrounded by the "noise of the street, the storm and the driven birds," with unspoken questions and unshed tears, captures the complexity of human emotions—rooted in both the personal and the collective, the past and the present.

"Return" is a multifaceted exploration of how memory, heritage, and the natural world intertwine to shape our understanding of love, loss, and identity. Bontemps masterfully crafts a narrative that is at once intimate and expansive, personal and universal, inviting readers to consider their own connections to the past and the ways in which these connections inform their experiences of the present and hopes for the future. Through its lyrical imagery and thematic depth, the poem affirms the enduring power of returning, in various forms, as a source of insight, renewal, and connection.

POEM TEXT:

                          I

Once more, listening to the wind and rain,

Once more, you and I, and above the hurting sound

Of these comes back the throbbing of remembered rain,

Treasured rain falling on dark ground.

Once more, huddling birds upon the leaves

And summer trembling on a withered vine.

And once more, returning out of pain,

The friendly ghost that was your love and mind.

                           II

Darkness brings the jungle to our room:

The throb of rain is the throb of muffled drums.

Darkness hangs our room with pendulums

Of vine and in the gathering gloom

Our walls recede into a denseness of

Surrounding trees. This is a night of love

Retained from those lost nights our fathers slept

In huts; this is a night that must not die.

Let us keep the dance of rain our fathers kept

And tread our dreams beneath the jungle sky.

                        III

And now the downpour ceases.

Let us go back once more upon the glimmering leaves

And as the throbbing of the drums increases

Shake the grass and dripping boughs of trees.

A dry wind stirs the palm; the old tree grieves.

Time has charged the years: the old days have returned.

Let us dance by metal waters burned

With gold of moon, let us dance

With naked feet beneath the young spice trees.

What was that light, that radiance

On your face?—something I saw when first

You passed beneath the jungle tapestries?

A moment we pause to quench our thirst

Kneeling at the water’s edge, the gleam

Upon your face is plain: you have wanted this.

Let us go back and search the tangled dream

And as the muffled drum-beats throb and miss

Remember again how early darkness comes

To dreams and silence to the drums.

                         IV

Let us go back into the dusk again,

Slow and sad-like following the track

Of blowing leaves and cool white rain

Into the old gray dream, let us go back.

Our walls close about us we lie and listen

To the noise of the street, the storm and the driven birds.

A question shapes your lips, your eyes glisten

Retaining tears, but there are no more words.

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