We stood by a pond that winter day,
And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,
And a few leaves lay on the starving sod,
–They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.
Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove
Over tedious riddles solved years ago;
And some words played between us to and fro–
On which lost the more by our love.
The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing
Alive enough to have strength to die;
And a grin of bitterness swept thereby
Like an ominous bird a-wing….
Since then, keen lessons that love deceives,
And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me
Your face, and the God-curst sun, and a tree,
And a pond edged with grayish leaves.
__________
Neutral Tones by Thomas Hardy, which can be found in Collected Poems of Thomas Hardy.
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Steven McCabe said:
Reading the poem and imagining the images, one thinks they know what he is saying. And then you read it again and wonder if what you thought is exactly right. Now I’m curious about how it all worked out and also appreciative of how he wrote this emotional experience in a way not completely black and white.
jrbenjamin said:
I totally agree. It’s a great poem because it’s so direct and honest. He’s not trying to do too much or overly polish his words; the metaphors and language are simple and thus unabashed in their honesty and power.
The final stanza is incredible too, as it seems he’s looking back (from months or even years on) to that day by the pond, and realizing how the “keen” lessons about love’s deceitfulness have colored the whole scene — the face of the addressee, the sun, the tree, etc.
Really a great poem that works because of it’s honesty, I think. Hardy’s not trying to obscure and complicate his emotions with diction and style — as a lot of poets, especially of his era, would do — but instead explains a scene and series of feelings that we can all relate to, or at least understand.
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