Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Robert Creeley';s "Blue Skies Motel" presents a vivid and immediate scene, capturing a slice of Americana with a blend of blunt realism, natural imagery, and a sharp, almost irreverent tone. Creeley, known for his straightforward yet evocative style, uses this poem to explore a landscape that is both familiar and transient—a setting that serves as a backdrop for contemplation, nostalgia, and a confrontation with the passage of time.

The poem opens with a commanding image: "Look at that motherfucking smokestack pointing straight up." The use of profanity here serves to immediately establish the speaker';s unfiltered, candid voice. The smokestack, a symbol of industrial life, stands in sharp contrast to the natural world that will be depicted in the following lines. The smokestack is a phallic symbol, a manifestation of human control over the landscape—unnatural and intrusive, yet seemingly permanent in its verticality. The speaker’s tone, laced with frustration or perhaps begrudging admiration, emphasizes a raw interaction with the environment, highlighting an industrial feature that doesn’t necessarily belong, yet commands attention.

Creeley then shifts to a softer, more nostalgic image: "See those clouds, old-time fleecy pillows, like they say, / whites and greys, float by." This imagery provides a striking juxtaposition to the harshness of the smokestack. The clouds are described with a clichéd simile—"old-time fleecy pillows"—which could suggest a yearning for the past, or simply a recognition of the comfort that familiar images provide. The words "like they say" reveal the speaker’s awareness of the conventionality of this metaphor, hinting at a slight detachment from or skepticism about its adequacy. The clouds are described as being in "whites and greys," simple colors that evoke a sense of neutrality or transition, adding to the feeling of a world caught between states—just as the season changes in the latter part of the poem.

“There’s cars on the street, / there’s a swimming pool out front—” introduces elements of the motel’s environment, continuing the depiction of a quintessential American roadside scene. The cars on the street represent movement, impermanence, and the constant flow of life passing by. The swimming pool "out front" is an image of leisure, evoking a sense of fleeting pleasure. Motels often serve as temporary homes, places for travelers to rest before moving on, and the pool symbolizes a moment of escape or comfort in an otherwise transient existence. The detached, almost observational tone in these lines conveys a sense of distance from these symbols of impermanence, as if the speaker is taking in these details without becoming attached to them.

The final lines, “and the trees go yellow now it’s the fall,” introduce a sense of change and transition. The imagery of the trees turning yellow not only situates the scene in a specific season but also brings a touch of natural beauty to the otherwise mundane and industrial landscape. Fall, as a season, represents decline, aging, and the inevitable passage of time, contrasting with the static smokestack and the seemingly carefree image of the swimming pool. The trees changing color serve as a reminder of the natural cycles that persist regardless of human structures and activities.

Creeley’s use of simple language and stark imagery emphasizes the juxtaposition between the industrial and the natural, the transient and the enduring. The poem’s setting—a motel—is emblematic of impermanence, a place people pass through but rarely linger. The smokestack and the swimming pool serve as contrasting symbols of the constructed environment: the smokestack stands as a monument to industry, while the swimming pool offers a transient moment of pleasure, an artificial body of water in a temporary setting.

The structure of "Blue Skies Motel" is loose and conversational, consisting of a single, unbroken stanza that reads almost like a stream of consciousness. This structure mirrors the immediacy of the speaker’s observations, as if the poem captures a momentary impression of the scene without deep reflection or elaboration. The brevity of the lines and the use of enjambment create a sense of fluidity, as if the speaker is simply noting what they see without dwelling on any one image for too long. This reflects the transient nature of the motel setting—there is no need for permanence in thought or expression.

Creeley’s language in this poem is direct and unadorned, often verging on crude, as seen in the opening line. This choice of diction serves to strip away any romanticism or sentimentality, offering instead a grounded and honest depiction of the scene. By using colloquial language, Creeley brings the reader into the immediate, unfiltered experience of the speaker, making the setting feel relatable and authentic. The juxtaposition of profanity with natural beauty creates a tension that runs throughout the poem, reflecting the speaker';s complex relationship with the landscape—a mix of awe, resignation, and perhaps a touch of contempt.

"Blue Skies Motel" ultimately serves as a meditation on the coexistence of natural and human-made elements in a landscape that is marked by impermanence. The motel itself, with its swimming pool and nearby street, represents a fleeting stop in the journey of life—a moment that is observed but not necessarily cherished. The smokestack and the changing trees symbolize the duality of human existence: the desire to create, to leave a mark on the world, juxtaposed with the inevitability of change and decay that is embodied by the natural world. Creeley’s poem invites the reader to reflect on this tension, to see the beauty in the mundane, and to acknowledge the transience of all things, whether constructed or natural. The speaker’s tone, shifting between irreverence and quiet observation, captures the complexity of this moment—one of both confrontation and acceptance of the world as it is.

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