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The Poem
Child, should any pleasant boy
Find you lovely, many could,
Wind not up between your joy
The sly delays of maidenhood:
Spread all your beauty in his sight
And do him kindness every way,
Since soon, too soon, the wolfer night
Climbs in between, and ends fair play.
---
A summer noon the middle sun
Stunned me full of waking sleep
And spread me slack as stone upon
The grass in foundered deep
There in that steep and loaded shine
Of hungriest life and crested year
To dream what plenitudes were mine
What fat futurities made near
When cold athwart these ripening plans
The shade o'erswam me like a sheet
Of draughty disappointed vans,
And lobbered beak, and drawling feet.
---
No doubt left. Enough deceiving
Now I know you do not love.
Now you know I do not love.
Now we know we do not love.
No more doubt. No more deceiving.
Yet there is pity in us for each other
And better times are almost fresh as true.
The dog returns. And the man to his mother.
And tides. And you to me. And I to you.
And we are cowardly kind the cruellest way,
Feeling the cliff unmorsel from our heels
And knowing balance gone, we smile, and stay
A little, whirling our arms like desperate wheels.
---
Not met and marred with the year's whole turn of grief,
But easily on the mercy of the morning
Fell this still folded leaf:
Small that never Summer spread
Demented on the dusty heat;
And sweet that never Fall
Wrung sere and tarnished red;
Safe now that never knew
Stunning Winter's bitter blue
It fell fair in the fair season:
Therefore with reason
Dress all in cheer and lightly put away
With music and glad will
This little child that cheated the long day
Of the long day's ill:
Who knows this breathing joy, heavy on us all,
Never, never, never.
Analysis
James Agee's poem is a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the passage of time. Divided into three distinct sections, the poem delves into different aspects of these themes, offering a nuanced and reflective perspective on human relationships.
In the first section, Agee addresses a young woman, advising her to embrace love and joy while she can, before the inevitable challenges of life intervene. The imagery of the "sly delays of maidenhood" and the "wolfer night" conveys a sense of foreboding, suggesting that innocence and happiness are fleeting.
The second section shifts to a personal reflection on a moment of awakening and disillusionment. The speaker describes a summer day that initially fills him with a sense of vitality and possibility, only to be overshadowed by the realization of unfulfilled dreams and thwarted ambitions. The imagery of being "stunned... full of waking sleep" and feeling "slack as stone upon / The grass" conveys a sense of disorientation and disappointment.
The third and final section explores the aftermath of a failed relationship, where both parties come to terms with the absence of love. Despite the acknowledgment that love is no longer present, there is still a sense of empathy and understanding between the two. The imagery of "whirling our arms like desperate wheels" suggests a struggle to maintain balance and composure in the face of emotional turmoil.
Overall, Agee's poem is a poignant meditation on the complexities of love and life. Through vivid imagery and introspective language, he invites readers to reflect on the fleeting nature of joy, the inevitability of loss, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
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