Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Richard Hugo's poem "December 24 and George McBride is Dead" is a reflective and somber meditation on memory, loss, and the complex emotions that surface during the holiday season. The poem intertwines personal recollections with observations of the present moment, creating a layered narrative that delves into the darker undercurrents of Christmas—a time typically associated with joy, but here suffused with melancholy and a sense of unresolved pain.

The poem opens with a scene that sets the tone for the speaker's introspective mood: "Across the street my neighbor's colored lights blink nervous as wrens." This simile introduces an image of fragility and tension, suggesting that even the festive lights are imbued with a sense of unease. The street itself is "treacherous with ice," and the radio issues "warnings to travelers," emphasizing the harshness of the external world. The environment outside is inhospitable, with the snowman in the speaker's yard "leaning headless west," further evoking a sense of decay and vulnerability. The headless snowman, leaning but not yet fallen, becomes a symbol of incomplete or suspended collapse—a fitting metaphor for the emotional state of the speaker and perhaps for the season itself.

The speaker notes that it is "Minus ten and wind. Black sky," a night that is cold and foreboding. The mention of "Ghosts in my fireplace attend me" introduces a supernatural element, suggesting that the speaker is haunted by memories and past experiences. This line also hints at the warmth and comfort of the hearth, though it is a comfort that is accompanied by the ghosts of the past, making it a place of both solace and sorrow.

Hugo touches on the darker aspects of Christmas, noting that "This is the night suicides go up," and referencing "the Christmas psychoses theory: Christ, the preferred son." These lines explore the idea that the holiday season, with its emphasis on family, love, and celebration, can exacerbate feelings of isolation, inadequacy, and despair for those who feel excluded or who are grappling with personal demons. The notion of Christ as the "preferred son" underscores the potential for feelings of rejection and unworthiness that may surface during this time.

The speaker reflects on past memories, recalling "a terrible man, cruel as weather in Havre, and his timid children." This memory is marked by a sense of enduring trauma, as the man's cruelty has left his children "still cringing in their middle age." The comparison to harsh weather emphasizes the relentless and inescapable nature of the man's cruelty, which has left deep and lasting scars on his children. This memory serves as a counterpoint to the idyllic scenes typically associated with Christmas, revealing the undercurrents of pain that persist beneath the surface of the holiday.

The speaker also recalls a personal memory of a "bewildering urge," involving "a girl named Julia, huge, the form of her legs when she twirled in a teasing wind." This memory is tinged with a mix of desire and confusion, as the speaker remembers being "turned on" by Julia's teasing but also feeling bewildered by these new and powerful emotions. The memory of Julia, with her "huge" presence and the way she "twirled home" knowing the effect she had on the speaker, is one of both longing and innocence, a moment of youthful discovery that has stayed with the speaker over the years.

As the poem returns to the present, the speaker observes that "Across the street, children are opening gifts." This scene of holiday cheer contrasts sharply with the speaker's introspective and somber mood. The snowman in the yard, now described as something that "will lean forever," becomes a metaphor for the permanence of certain states of being—states that, like the snowman, are frozen in time. The snowman’s "nervous system numb" and "eyes watery stones" suggest a lifelessness that mirrors the emotional numbness the speaker feels.

The poem concludes with a reflection on the cruel man who "melted attended by dogs," a symbol of the inevitable decay and passing of time. His children, now "wealthy and still repressed," are portrayed as people who have materially succeeded but remain emotionally stunted, "sleeping with their money" as a substitute for the emotional warmth and security they lacked in childhood. The final image of Julia, who "twirls in the flames, in the carols that leak in," reinforces the idea that these memories—both painful and sweet—continue to burn in the speaker's consciousness, intertwined with the sounds and sights of the present.

"December 24 and George McBride is Dead" is a powerful exploration of how the holiday season can evoke complex emotions, blending joy with sorrow, memory with the present, and warmth with coldness. Richard Hugo's use of imagery and reflection creates a nuanced portrait of a speaker who is both connected to and haunted by his past, struggling to reconcile these memories with the reality of the present. The poem invites readers to consider the ways in which personal history shapes our experiences of the present, especially during times of celebration that can also bring to the surface unresolved pain and longing.

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