Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Remembrance" by Maya Angelou delves into the complexities of love and memory, capturing ephemeral moments that linger long after they have passed. The poem explores the tactile, sensory experiences associated with love, yet it also delves into the more ethereal, almost mystical aspects of romantic connection. The poet not only examines love's physical manifestation but also its lingering emotional impact, capturing the blend of desire, loss, and reverie that love often leaves in its wake.

The poem starts by evoking a vivid, tactile image of love with "Your hands easy / weight, teasing the bees / hived in my hair." These lines are rich in sensory details-the weight of the hands, the teasing motion, and the metaphorical bees in the hair-to portray an intimate, affectionate moment. The poetic persona seems to revel in this instant, almost as if time itself has slowed down to allow for deeper absorption of the feeling. This is love at its most corporeal, filled with palpable details that make it overwhelmingly present.

In the lines that follow, Angelou describes another fleeting moment of physical intimacy: "you press / above me, glowing, spouting / readiness, mystery rapes / my reason." The language here is both sensual and slightly unsettling. "Mystery rapes / my reason" stands out as a jarring phrase, indicating that the love experience is so overpowering it violates rational thought. This choice of words instills the poem with an intense emotional charge, hinting at the dangerous pull of passionate love, which can eclipse reason and self-control.

The next part of the poem addresses absence: "When you have withdrawn / your self and the magic." The persona describes the void left behind when the lover is gone, both physically and emotionally. This absence, however, brings its form of presence: "only the smell of your / love lingers between / my breasts." The poem asserts that even when love has withdrawn its immediate, tangible form, its essence remains as a haunting, almost aromatic memory. The word "linger" suggests that the sensory experience of love endures, infiltrating the spaces that the lover once occupied.

The concluding lines, "then, only / then, can I greedily consume / your presence," encapsulate the notion that love is sometimes most profoundly felt in the space that follows physical departure. Absence allows the poetic persona to "greedily consume" the memories, savoring them without the distractions of the actual, lived experience.

In "Remembrance," Angelou beautifully captures the tension between love's immediate physicality and its lasting emotional imprint. She navigates through the ebbs and flows of romantic experience, revealing that even when love departs, its essence remains, imprinted in the memory and the senses. Thus, the poem becomes a complex emotional tapestry, interwoven with threads of desire, loss, and enduring affection.

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