Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Richard Hugo's poem "Why I Think of Dumar Sally" is a reflective and melancholic meditation on failure, disappointment, and the passage of time. The speaker’s contemplation of a failing district and the memories it evokes serves as a backdrop for deeper introspection on unfulfilled dreams and the loneliness that accompanies them. Through vivid imagery and a tone of quiet resignation, Hugo explores the intersections of personal and communal decline, the inevitability of change, and the bittersweet nature of memory.

The poem opens with the speaker asking for forgiveness for his "nerve," which sets the tone for a confession of sorts—an admission of a deeply personal and possibly uncomfortable truth. The speaker begins by describing the journey up the "long hill from the river," a place where "success is unpretentious commerce." This phrase evokes a sense of modesty and reliability, as the river represents the flow of everyday life, where "tugs towing saleable logs" and "drab factories tooting reliable workers home" symbolize the steady, if unremarkable, rhythms of a working-class existence.

In contrast to this, the district the speaker describes is marked by failure: "Here, the stores are balanced on the edge of failure and they never fail." This paradoxical statement suggests a perpetual state of just getting by, where "minimal profits" are enough to keep going, but where any real success remains elusive. The district is described as having "failed from the beginning," with the pioneer who named it dying "wondering what's wrong with the location." This sense of inevitable decline permeates the poem, creating a backdrop of futility against which all efforts seem doomed to fail.

The speaker's gaze, for which he seeks forgiveness, sees this district in a pale light. He observes the lives around him with a sense of foreboding: "When lovers pass me on their way to love I know they'll end up hating." This line suggests a deep cynicism or perhaps a hard-earned wisdom about the impermanence of happiness and the inevitability of disillusionment. The "fresh paint gleaming yellow on the meeting hall" that "peels before it dries" is a potent metaphor for the fleeting nature of hope and the futility of attempting to revitalize what is already decaying.

The grocer's futile efforts to "increase sales" only lead him to a dim room, counting pennies and bewildered by "volitant girls / who romp in clouds above his store." This image of carefree, unattainable youth contrasts sharply with the grocer's harsh reality, emphasizing the gulf between dreams and reality. The poem continues with the image of a family moving away after thirty years, symbolizing the departure of stability and the relentless march of time. Even the "well built daughter of the druggist" starts to "sag," a poignant reminder of the inevitable decline that accompanies aging.

The title character, Dumar Sally, is associated with a dancehall that burned down, taking with it "a hundred early degradations." This phrase suggests that the dancehall, once a place of youthful exuberance and possibly scandal, has now become a symbol of lost innocence and the destruction of the past. The speaker reflects on how he "never knew the reason / for a girl's wide smile," an image that haunts him alongside memories of a "blue spot raying over dancers" and the solitary sound of a clarinet after the drum has gone silent. These images evoke a sense of nostalgia for a time that was both vibrant and fleeting, a time that has left the speaker with unresolved questions and lingering sadness.

The poem ends with the speaker's confession of loneliness: "I take the dark walk home. Now see the nerve you must forgive." This line reveals the speaker’s vulnerability and the isolation that comes with being alone while others "in pairs in cars" head toward the moonlit river. The speaker’s solitude is contrasted with the communal experience of others, highlighting his sense of being out of step with the world around him. His final question, "asking what I do wrong," encapsulates the self-doubt and the search for meaning that underpins the entire poem.

"Why I Think of Dumar Sally" is a poignant exploration of personal and communal decline, where the speaker's reflections on a failing district become a lens through which to view his own feelings of loneliness and inadequacy. Richard Hugo’s use of imagery and introspective tone creates a powerful narrative about the inevitability of change, the fleeting nature of happiness, and the enduring impact of memory. The poem invites readers to consider how the places we inhabit, and the memories we carry, shape our understanding of ourselves and the world around us, even as they remind us of our own limitations and the passage of time.

Copyright (c) 2024 PoetryExplorer

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...