Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Richard Hugo's poem "Remember Graham" is a reflective meditation on memory, identity, and the passage of time. The poem explores how certain places, like Graham, become deeply intertwined with our sense of self and how revisiting these places can evoke a complex mix of nostalgia, regret, and continuity. Through his characteristic use of vivid imagery and a contemplative tone, Hugo delves into the emotional landscape of returning to a place long remembered and the way that memories can both anchor and haunt us.

The poem begins with a contemplation of memory's role in shaping identity: "If we spend our life remembering what we love, to be sure who we are, Graham endures like ivy." This line suggests that our memories, particularly of the things and places we love, are fundamental to understanding who we are. The comparison of Graham to ivy evokes a sense of permanence and resilience, as ivy is a plant that clings tenaciously to whatever surface it grows on, much like memories that hold fast in our minds over the years.

Hugo introduces a hypothetical scenario: "Even if I were, and I wasn't, the poisoner, nine dogs to my credit, I still might own by right of blood the long poplar windbreak by the road." This line blurs the boundaries between reality and imagination, hinting at the idea that our memories and identities are often shaped as much by what might have been as by what actually was. The mention of "nine dogs" and "the poisoner" adds a dark, almost mythic element to the poem, suggesting a past filled with guilt or wrongdoing, yet this imagined self would still claim ownership of the familiar landscape by the "right of blood."

The poem continues with another hypothetical: "If I were the bigot who ran the bar, September still might die forever in the fern." Here, Hugo seems to be exploring the idea that even the worst aspects of ourselves, or the people we might have been, are inextricably linked to the places we inhabit and the rhythms of the natural world. The phrase "September still might die forever in the fern" evokes the inevitable passage of time and the changing of seasons, suggesting that certain patterns—both in nature and in human life—are constant, regardless of individual actions or identities.

Hugo then shifts to a more personal reflection on the act of returning to Graham: "Again, my car, not old this time, not burning oil, dives down the hill I've hoarded twenty years to Graham." The image of the car "diving down the hill" conveys a sense of urgency and inevitability in the return to this familiar place. The phrase "hoarded twenty years" suggests that the memory of Graham has been carefully preserved, cherished even, over the course of two decades. This return is marked by a mixture of anticipation and perhaps a fear of what has changed or remained the same.

The poem contrasts the changes that have occurred with the continuity of certain elements: "All's improved. Fat dogs doze in buttercups and the kind author of books about peach trees waves from his porch." This line suggests a sense of peacefulness and contentment in the present, as if the passage of time has brought positive changes to the landscape and the people who inhabit it. The image of "fat dogs" and the "kind author" evokes a pastoral, almost idyllic scene, where life continues in a gentle, untroubled manner.

Yet, even as some things have improved, others remain the same: "And things are the same. Poplars sway like early girls in dream and sun flushes the swallows who ride thermals wisely into the world of black dazzle and take their place with the stars." This closing image is rich with symbolism. The poplars, which sway "like early girls in dream," evoke a sense of innocence and the dreamlike quality of memory. The swallows, riding thermals into the "world of black dazzle," suggest a movement towards something greater, perhaps the vastness of the universe, where they "take their place with the stars." This final image conveys a sense of continuity and the natural cycle of life, where even as time passes and memories fade, certain patterns and rhythms remain unchanged.

"Remember Graham" is a meditation on how places and memories shape our identities and how returning to a place from the past can evoke a complex blend of emotions. Richard Hugo’s use of vivid imagery and reflective language captures the tension between change and continuity, the personal and the universal, as the speaker grapples with the ways in which memory both defines and eludes us. The poem invites readers to consider how their own memories are intertwined with the places they have known and loved, and how those places continue to live on in the mind, even as time moves inexorably forward.

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