Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Movie" by Eileen Myles is a compact yet evocative poem that delicately explores the intimate, tactile sensations experienced in love. Although the poem is brief, its thematic focus on sensuality, the corporeal, and the spoken or written word adds depth and nuance to what may initially appear to be straightforward.

Eileen Myles is an American poet, writer, and performer who gained widespread recognition for their contributions to contemporary poetry and LGBTQ+ literature. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1949, Myles has been a significant figure in the New York literary and art scenes since the 1970s. Myles' work has been associated with the New York School of poets, and their writing often explores themes of gender, sexuality, identity, and the challenges and celebrations of everyday life.

The opening lines set the tone with intimate likenesses-"You're like / a little fruit," and "you're like / a moon"-conjuring up vibrant and luminescent images. Comparing the loved one to a moon serves dual purposes. The moon is distant and yet impactful, much like a captivating love, while the fruit is something intimate, organic, and tactile, meant to be held and consumed. Together, these similes paint a love that is both distant and close, celestial and earthly.

"I said lemon slope / about your / hip" introduces an overtly sensual note. Here, the speaker describes the loved one's body using a term that is both poetic and specific, "lemon slope," capturing the unique contours of their hip. That the term is "one / of my words / about you" highlights how love often creates its language-idiomatic, intimate phrases that hold special meaning for the individuals involved.

The poem transitions from this bodily intimacy to a cerebral space where the speaker is "alone / with my book." The shift could be read as a commentary on how love exists both in tactile reality and in the imagination. Even alone, the speaker is influenced by the sensations of love, with the book's pages "wagging / against my knuckles / in the / light like a / sail." The pages become an almost animate part of the speaker's tactile world, perhaps echoing the constant, lingering touch of a loved one even when physically absent.

The structure of the poem enhances its themes. It employs free verse and lacks conventional punctuation, lending it a conversational, immediate tone. The line breaks and enjambment emphasize individual words, causing the reader to pause and reflect. For example, the phrase "lemon slope" is isolated between line breaks, causing the reader to consider its meaning more deeply. This is enhanced by the generally monosyllabic nature of the poem, which invites slow reading and deeper absorption of each term and image.

In sum, "Movie" captures the way love manifests through various senses-visually through the likenesses of the moon and fruit, tactilely through the "lemon slope" of a hip, and intellectually through the solitary act of reading and writing. It suggests that love is a multi-sensory experience that informs and is informed by language. The poem, in its brevity and depth, becomes an intimate portrayal of love's impact, leaving a lingering sense like the "wagging" pages in the light.

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