Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Bleecker Street, Summer", Derek Walcott conjures a vivid sensory experience of a New York summer, blending the vibrant life of the city with personal and reflective longing. The poem, infused with the warmth of summer, carries a mood of languor, nostalgia, and intimacy, juxtaposing the bustling urban landscape with quieter, intimate desires.

The poem opens with a declaration: "Summer for prose and lemons, for nakedness and languor." Here, summer becomes a time for simplicity and indulgence, for both the mundane (prose and lemons) and the sensual (nakedness and languor). The "imagined return" suggests a longing for something lost or absent, perhaps a person or a feeling of youth and freedom. Walcott positions summer as a space for this return, a moment when idle thoughts can turn back to what was once cherished.

The poet continues to evoke a range of experiences associated with summer: "rare flutes and bare feet, and the August bedroom / of tangled sheets and the Sunday salt." These lines are rich with sensory details, focusing on the tactile and auditory elements that define this season. The "rare flutes" evoke both the sounds of music and a sense of rarity and preciousness, while "bare feet" and "tangled sheets" hint at the intimate, physical connections made in the heat of summer. The mention of "Sunday salt" suggests both the physical salt of sweat and the salt of the sea, emphasizing the bodily experiences tied to the season.

Walcott then moves to the streets of Bleecker, painting a picture of a lively urban environment: "When I press summer dusks together, it is / a month of street accordions and sprinklers / laying the dust, small shadows running from me." The image of "pressing summer dusks together" suggests a desire to hold onto fleeting moments, to extend the pleasures of summer. The street accordions and sprinklers evoke a sense of community and childhood play, while the "small shadows running from me" symbolize the passage of time and the elusive nature of these moments.

The sounds of the city continue with "music opening and closing, Italia mia, on Bleecker, / ciao, Antonio," capturing the Italian heritage that colors this part of New York. The poem becomes a symphony of city life, blending the personal with the public, as Walcott immerses himself in the cultural and sensory landscape of the street. The "water-cries of children" further animate the scene, their playfulness tearing through the "rose-coloured sky," a striking image that evokes both beauty and disruption.

Walcott also brings in a sense of disorientation and yearning: "it is dusk in the nostrils and the smell of water / down littered streets that lead you to no water." The smell of water suggests a longing for something refreshing or purifying, but the streets "lead you to no water," reflecting a deeper sense of frustration or unfulfilled desire. This image captures the tension between the physical reality of the city and the poet’s emotional or imaginative desires.

The Hudson River, "like the sea aflame," stands as a powerful symbol in the poem. The river, representing both movement and division, contrasts with the stasis of the city streets and the emotional heat of summer. The phrase "like the sea aflame" suggests both beauty and danger, the river reflecting the intensity of the summer heat but also carrying a sense of unrest.

The poem closes with a tender, intimate invitation: "I would undress you in the summer heat, / and laugh and dry your damp flesh if you came." These lines shift the focus from the cityscape to the personal, expressing a desire for connection and love. The act of undressing and drying the beloved’s flesh speaks to the care and affection that accompanies love, and the conditional "if you came" adds a layer of longing, suggesting that the beloved is absent or distant.

Ultimately, "Bleecker Street, Summer" is a meditation on time, memory, and desire, set against the backdrop of a vibrant urban summer. Walcott’s imagery and language capture the fleeting nature of summer’s pleasures and the yearning for both physical and emotional connection. The poem deftly blends the public and personal, the noisy streets and the quiet moments of reflection, leaving the reader with a sense of both nostalgia and longing.

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