Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"The Blue Swallows" is a poem by Howard Nemerov that was first published in 1976 as part of his collection titled "The Winter Lightning: Selected Poems". The poem explores themes of mortality, nature, and memory through the imagery of swallows and the changing of seasons.

Explanation:

The poem begins with a description of blue swallows, which represent the changing of seasons from spring to summer. The speaker reflects on how the swallows "light and go" from place to place, noting how their movements signify the passage of time. The second stanza describes how the swallows build their nests and raise their young, but also how their "leaving empties the world."

The third stanza shifts to the speaker's own memories of childhood, when the swallows seemed "to come by on purpose / To tell us of heaven." However, the speaker acknowledges that this innocence and wonder is lost as we grow older and become more aware of mortality. The final stanza returns to the swallows, and the speaker imagines them disappearing into the "emptiness" of the sky, suggesting that the cycle of life and death is a natural and inevitable part of the world.

Poetic Elements:

• Form: The poem consists of four stanzas of varying lengths, with irregular rhyme and meter.
• Imagery: The swallows serve as a central image throughout the poem, representing the changing of seasons, the cycle of life and death, and the passage of time.
• Tone: The poem has a reflective and contemplative tone, with a sense of nostalgia and longing for a lost innocence.

Conclusion:

"The Blue Swallows" is a poignant reflection on the passage of time and the inevitability of mortality, conveyed through the imagery of swallows and the changing of seasons. Nemerov's use of irregular rhyme and meter and his contemplative tone help to create a sense of nostalgia and longing for a lost sense of innocence and wonder.

Poem Snippet:

"The blue swallows, too, are gone, and the air

Is empty of their soft, quick whistle.

Long, long ago, with childhood's earth

At home within him, the poet heard

Those calls telling of heaven."