Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poem "Cafe Notre Dame" captures an intimate moment between two lovers, using a Parisian café as the setting for an exploration of passion, desire, and fate. The poem blends imagery of love with the metaphor of a journey through the labyrinthine city of Paris, transforming the couple's physical closeness into a deeper metaphor for their intertwined destinies.

The poem begins with the description of a "sort of sexual trauma" that binds the couple, as "He is holding both her hands / in both his hands / She is kissing his hands." The repetition of "hands" emphasizes their physical closeness and the tenderness of the moment. The couple is so captivated by each other that they are "looking in each other’s eyes / up close," revealing a shared intensity that transcends the mundane setting.

The poem introduces the woman's "fur coat / made of a hundred running rabbits," suggesting both luxury and sensuality. Her coat, a vibrant symbol of movement and life, contrasts with the man's "formal / dark coat and dove grey trousers," creating a visual dynamic between the two lovers. The description of their attire places them firmly within a specific Parisian aesthetic, suggesting sophistication and elegance.

Ferlinghetti then shifts the focus to the couple's hands, as they are "inspecting the palms / of each other’s hands / as if they were maps of Paris / or of the world." The metaphor of their palms as maps transforms their hands into a guide for their journey together, searching "for the Metro / That would take them together / through subterranean ways / through the stations of desire." The image of the Metro, Paris's iconic underground train system, becomes a symbol for the journey of love itself, moving through the "subterranean ways" of their desires.

The poem continues with the couple seeking "love’s final terminals / at the ports of the city of light." The "ports" evoke the idea of arrival and destination, hinting at a longing for fulfillment and permanence in their relationship. However, Ferlinghetti adds a touch of irony by calling it a "terminal case," suggesting that their passion is both intense and potentially all-consuming.

As they explore each other's hands, the couple becomes lost in "the crisscrossing lines / of their intertwined palms / their head-lines and their heart-lines." The imagery of "head-lines," "heart-lines," "fate-lines," and "life-lines" emphasizes the complexity of their relationship, as their destinies intertwine in a way that is both "illegibly entangled" and inextricable. The final line, "in the mons veneris," grounds their passion in the physical realm, as this anatomical term alludes to the area just above the female genitalia, representing a nexus of love, desire, and fate.

"Cafe Notre Dame" is a vivid exploration of love and intimacy, portraying a couple so consumed by each other that they are metaphorically navigating the city of Paris through their own intertwined palms. Ferlinghetti captures the essence of passionate love, where head-lines and heart-lines blur and fate becomes inseparable from desire. The poem suggests that love is both a journey and a destination, where the lines of one's palms can lead to "love's final terminals" if one is willing to follow them. Ultimately, "Cafe Notre Dame" reflects the timeless appeal of love, where two people can find an entire world within each other's touch.

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