Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Change of Season" by Audre Lorde is a nuanced tapestry woven from the threads of memory, transformation, and time. Written in 1969, a period when America was undergoing rapid cultural changes and social upheaval, the poem presents a deeply introspective look into the continual metamorphoses of human existence. Lorde employs a complex structure of contrasting seasons, personal events, and specific memories to articulate a life that is constantly in flux, subject to both welcome changes and harsh realities.

The poem opens with a poignant question: "Am I to be cursed forever with becoming / somebody else on the way to myself?" This introduction lays down the thematic framework for the entire piece: the relentless changes that mark human life, creating new identities even as they distance people from their original selves. The speaker grapples with this eternal 'becoming,' always in a state of transformation but never quite reaching a stable sense of identity.

The imagery of seasons serves as a powerful metaphor for various stages of life. Summer brings the desires for "lovers or friends," autumn signals decay and disillusionment, and winter marks the birth of children-"angry effort and reward." Each season represents a unique period in the speaker's life, full of its own struggles and joys, but also a part of the larger pattern of continual change. The cycle of life, represented by these changing seasons, captures the cyclical nature of human experiences.

The poem also includes rich details that add another layer of complexity: the "cruel boys" and "dodgeball sisters," the "streamers" of various occasions, the arrival of a "free dog," and the telephone in the household. These specific markers serve both as snapshots of particular moments and as universal signifiers of human experiences-love, loss, hope, and disappointment. The mention of her first lover who "died on a Sunday morning" offers a poignant contrast to the "promise" that had come earlier; it serves as a haunting reminder of life's fragility and unpredictability.

The climax of the poem arrives in its final stanzas, where the speaker stands at the threshold of a new beginning: "the eighth day is coming." Here, time is seen not as a linear construct but as a cycle of renewal and transformation. "Summer goes into my words / and comes out reason," says the speaker, encapsulating the process of turning raw experience into wisdom.

In "Change of Season," Lorde manages to create an intricate web of ideas, where seasons, human events, and personal memories intertwine to produce a composite picture of a life in constant flux. She captures the essence of what it means to live through changing times, to wrestle with one's own transformations, and to emerge at the other end with some semblance of understanding. The poem doesn't offer neat resolutions or answers but exists as a testament to the messy, painful, and beautiful process of continual becoming. It serves as a poignant reminder that the very nature of life is change, and in that change, we find both our greatest challenges and our most profound rewards.

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