Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Vicente Aleixandre was a Spanish poet born in 1898, who was part of the Generation of '27, a group of poets that emerged in Spanish literature between the years 1923 and 1927. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1977. Aleixandre's work often delves into the complexities of human emotions, the mysteries of existence, and the profundities of interpersonal relationships.

In "Like the Sea, Kisses," Aleixandre explores the ephemeral and yet lasting impact of love and memory. The poem starts with a dismissal of superficial gestures and words: "Emblems mean nothing / nor vain words that are but breaths of air." Aleixandre asserts that what genuinely endures is the "echo of what I heard and listened to." It is not just the auditory memory but the emotional resonance, symbolized by the echo, that matters.

The comparison of a past lover's voice to the sea serves as the central metaphor. "Your voice, though dead lives, as I who pass / here still find you," the speaker says, noting how the voice of the past lover persists like the ocean that continues to make its presence felt. This line suggests a haunting, the sort of imprinting that people who deeply affect us tend to leave behind.

Aleixandre complicates this comparison as he examines the dynamics of the relationship. The speaker posits that the love was "more consistent, / more lasting," not because of physical expressions of love like kisses but because it was akin to the sea's invasion of the sand. This metaphor captures the dual nature of love-both invading and retreating, constantly dynamic and yet leaving a lasting imprint.

The latter half of the poem continues this marine metaphor but shifts its focus to the element of loss: "As it ebbed and flowed, you never return." The imagery here evokes the ceaseless cycle of the sea's tides-always in motion but never the same. This adds a poignant sense of finality to the relationship.

Aleixandre captures the complexity of human emotions in love and loss by examining the traces left behind: "I only find edges. Only the fine edge of a voice that / remains in me." Even after the physical presence has ebbed away like the sea, the "fine edge of a voice" remains. The poem concludes on a melancholic note, likening kisses to bits of seaweed that are "Magical in the light, then they become lifeless," offering a somber reflection on the impermanent and ever-changing nature of love.

Overall, "Like the Sea, Kisses" showcases Vicente Aleixandre's deft handling of metaphor and his profound insight into human relationships. The poem serves as a complex emotional landscape, exploring love's capacity to be both transformative and fleeting, to leave both an indelible imprint and an aching void.

POEM TEXT:

Emblems mean nothing

nor vain words that are but breaths of air.

What matters is the echo of what I heard and listened to.

Your voice, though dead lives, as I who pass

here still find you.

You were more consistent,

more lasting, not because I kissed you,

nor because with you, firm, I held fast to existence.

Rather because like the sea

after invading the sand deepens, fearful.

In greens or in foam the sea, joyful, grows distant.

As it ebbed and flowed, you never return.

Perhaps because, rolled

On an endless shore, I could not find you.

The traces of your foam,

when the water recedes, remain along the edges.

I only find edges. Only the fine edge of a voice that

remains in me.

Like a bit of seaweed your kisses.

Magical in the light, then they become lifeless.

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