Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Elegy at the Onset of Winter" by Christopher Howell is a delicate, lyrical tribute to poet James Wright, reflecting on themes of memory, loss, and the changing seasons. Howell’s elegy situates the departed in the natural world, intertwining imagery of winter, fading landscapes, and light to evoke both mourning and reverence. Through a blend of tender language and powerful, melancholic imagery, the poem captures the sense of longing to reconnect with someone who has passed and the inevitable distance that death creates.

The poem opens with a simple, yet profound expression of love and hope: “I love you and wish you grace, dead apple, empty space.” Howell’s choice of “dead apple” and “empty space” as terms of endearment creates a sense of intimacy while acknowledging the physical absence of the departed. “Dead apple” might evoke an image of the end of a fruitful season, suggesting that Wright’s life, like an apple, was both nourishing and finite, now existing only in memory. The “empty space” signals the void left behind, a palpable absence that remains close despite the distance created by death.

Describing Wright as “fair enough, almost blond in any case” offers a personal glimpse into the poet’s appearance, creating a gentle, almost nostalgic tone. Howell then portrays himself coming “alone at dark to call you friend and good deceiver / of the Devil’s face.” The “good deceiver” reflects Howell’s admiration for Wright’s ability to defy or challenge dark forces—perhaps personal struggles or the harshness of life—through his poetry and spirit. By “deceiving” the Devil, Wright appears as someone who transcended life’s darkness with grace, perhaps through his art, his presence, or his kindness.

The imagery of touching and bringing Wright “back to be the wind-teased cottonwoods” imagines an almost supernatural possibility of resurrection. This imagery invokes nature’s cycles of life, death, and rebirth, as if the departed could transform into elements of the natural world. The “wind-teased cottonwoods lining the tangled field at dawn” symbolize both beauty and resilience, evoking a scene that is both quiet and vibrant, suggesting that Wright’s spirit might still reside in these simple, living forms.

The line “You could come down from the bridge that bears you” is rich with symbolism. The bridge may represent the passage between life and death, a transitional space where Wright’s memory resides, “grey as breath.” The phrase “grey as breath” beautifully captures the ephemerality of life, as breath—both essential and fleeting—disappears into the air. The image of Wright “aloft and singing like a single paper rose” further emphasizes his fragility and beauty, suggesting a song that transcends life, like a delicate yet enduring rose made of paper, which may fade but not easily perish.

Howell introduces the idea of “the ancient palm of light unfolding for a song called Whisper, Were You Ever Here?” This line personifies light as a hand that opens gently, almost reverentially, to invite the question of Wright’s presence and impact. “Whisper, Were You Ever Here?” suggests an ethereal question posed by the world itself, hinting at the fleeting nature of life and the sense of disbelief and wonder at someone’s passing. This title-like phrase conveys both a whisper of doubt and a tribute to the life Wright lived, as if his presence, while gone, still lingers softly within the world.

The poem’s final question, “where in the blinding quick of summer have you gone?” contrasts the cold, still setting of winter with the heat and vitality of summer. This line speaks to the swiftness of life’s passing and the paradox of feeling someone’s absence most acutely in times of warmth and brightness. Summer, often a symbol of life and fullness, becomes a distant memory, now overtaken by winter’s quiet emptiness. Howell captures the raw sense of dislocation and longing, as though Wright’s spirit departed with the last rush of summer, leaving the speaker in the onset of winter, seeking traces of his friend in the silence.

"Elegy at the Onset of Winter" is both an homage and a meditation on mortality. Howell draws on seasonal and natural imagery to evoke the inevitability of life’s cycles and the lingering presence of those we’ve lost. Through intimate and expressive language, he invites readers to share in a moment of reflection, honoring the memory of James Wright while acknowledging the unbridgeable gap that death imposes. Howell’s elegy resonates as a quiet but powerful reminder that while loved ones may pass, their spirit remains intertwined with the landscape of memory, always just a whisper away.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...