Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Linda Pastan's poem "Things I Didn't Know I Loved: After Nazim Hikmet" is a reflective and evocative meditation on the nuances of love and appreciation for the seemingly ordinary elements of life. Drawing inspiration from Nazim Hikmet's style, Pastan explores the layers of attachment and the evolving nature of affection toward the world around her, revealing a deepened awareness of beauty and significance in everyday experiences.

The poem begins with an assertion of a known love: "I always knew I loved the sky," setting the stage for an exploration of the familiar. Pastan describes the sky with a sense of wonder, noting its paradoxical nature as both "solid and insubstantial at the same time." The sky becomes a metaphor for the elusive nature of desires and answers, "always out of reach," much like the sky pursued in a climbing plane. The sky's ability to "embody blue, / even when it is gray" reflects its enduring presence and beauty, even in moments of change or ambiguity.

As the poem progresses, Pastan shifts to things she didn't know she loved, beginning with the clouds. The clouds are described as "shaggy eyebrows glowering / over the face of the sun," imbuing them with a personality and a somewhat foreboding presence. Yet, she acknowledges a love for "the strange shapes clouds can take," likening them to the work of an artist who "keeps changing her mind." This comparison suggests a recognition of the clouds' fluid and ever-changing forms, which captivate the imagination. The clouds' "deceptive softness" evokes a yearning for comfort that remains unattainable, much like resting against a bosom that one can never reach.

Pastan continues by expressing her affection for the grass, even as she cuts it short, drawing a connection between the act of mowing and the barbering of her grandson's hair. The smell of grass, which fills her nostrils "with intimations of youth and lust," evokes memories and emotions tied to the vitality of life. The grass stains her handkerchief "with meanings / that never wash out," symbolizing the indelible marks that experiences leave on us, even when they seem mundane.

The poem then moves to a consideration of rain and snow, with Pastan acknowledging a conditional love for the rain—"sometimes"—and an unreserved love for snow when viewed from the warmth of the indoors. The snow, which blurs the edges of the world outside, enhances the appreciation of trees, whose "austere shapes" in winter are likened to "cutout silhouettes" and whose "fuzzy" branches in May symbolize renewal and growth.

The poem shifts again to a less obvious object of affection: the sound of trains. Pastan captures the melancholic beauty of the "drawn-out whistles of longing in the night," comparing them to "coyotes made of steam and steel." The sound of trains becomes a symbol of loneliness and departure, evoking images of "prisoners on chain gangs" and "defeated men hammering spikes into rails." These whistles give voice to the kind of loneliness that, paradoxically, can be comforting—a "loneliness I can take in my arms," which provides solace even as it brings pain.

In a poignant reflection, Pastan considers the possibility of embracing "the music of departure"—a "song without lyrics" that she does not yet love but anticipates she might come to love out of necessity. This contemplation speaks to the inevitability of loss and the way we might learn to find beauty or meaning in departure, even when it is painful.

The poem culminates in a recognition of the impermanence of all things: "For at the end of the story, when sky and clouds and grass, / and even you my love of so many years, / have almost disappeared, / it will be all there is left to love." This closing passage suggests that in the final stages of life, when everything familiar fades, what remains is the capacity to love the experience of departure itself, as it becomes the last connection to the world.

"Things I Didn't Know I Loved" is a tender exploration of the subtle and often unrecognized affections that shape our lives. Through her contemplative and lyrical style, Pastan invites readers to reflect on the beauty and significance of the ordinary, the transient, and the inevitable. The poem is a celebration of the complexity of love, recognizing that our attachments evolve over time, often revealing new layers of meaning and emotion as we journey through life.

Copyright (c) 2025 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...