Lawrence Ferlinghetti
In Golden Gate Park that day
a man and his wife were coming along
thru an enormous meadow
which was the meadow of the world
He was wearing green suspenders
and carrying an old beat-up flute
in one hand
while his wife had a bunch of grapes
which she kept handing out
individually
to various squirrels
as if each
were a little joke
And the two of them came on
thru the enormous meadow
which was the meadow of the world
and then
at a very still spot where the trees dreamed
and seemed to have been waiting thru all time
for them
they sat down on the grass together
without looking at each other
and ate oranges
without looking at each other
and put the peels
in a basket which they seemed
to have brought for that purpose
without looking at each other
And then
he took his shirt and undershirt off
but kept his hat on
sideways
and without saying anything
fell asleep under it
And his wife just sat there looking
at the birds which flew about
calling to each other
in the stilly air
as if they were questioning existence
or trying to recall something forgotten
But then finally
she too lay down flat
and just lay there looking up
at nothing
yet fingering the old flute
which nobody played
and finally looking over
at him
with no particular expression
except a certain awful look
of terrible depression
a man and his wife were coming along
thru an enormous meadow
which was the meadow of the world
He was wearing green suspenders
and carrying an old beat-up flute
in one hand
while his wife had a bunch of grapes
which she kept handing out
individually
to various squirrels
as if each
were a little joke
And the two of them came on
thru the enormous meadow
which was the meadow of the world
and then
at a very still spot where the trees dreamed
and seemed to have been waiting thru all time
for them
they sat down on the grass together
without looking at each other
and ate oranges
without looking at each other
and put the peels
in a basket which they seemed
to have brought for that purpose
without looking at each other
And then
he took his shirt and undershirt off
but kept his hat on
sideways
and without saying anything
fell asleep under it
And his wife just sat there looking
at the birds which flew about
calling to each other
in the stilly air
as if they were questioning existence
or trying to recall something forgotten
But then finally
she too lay down flat
and just lay there looking up
at nothing
yet fingering the old flute
which nobody played
and finally looking over
at him
with no particular expression
except a certain awful look
of terrible depression
The trope in this Ferlinghetti poem refers to a call back to nature. Ferlinghetti believes in the importance of the natural world; this poem on Golden Gate Park reflects the necessity to preserve a piece of nature within the walls of an evolving metropolitan city. San Francisco is an ever-changing, always active city. It simultaneously represents progress and disorder in very dark, perverse, and beautifully poetic ways. But as exciting as Ferlinghetti's San Francisco is, he understands the importance of grabbing a moment of peace. The park is supposed to stand as a natural sanctuary and a way for people to temporarily remove themselves from the hustle and bustle of this urban life. However, Ferlinghetti implies that the park is not serving its purpose; rather, the hardships of everyday life have seeped into the park's boundaries.
The tone in the beginning of the poem sets Golden Gate Park up to be this wondrous place of "enormous" proportions; it is "the meadow of the world." Ferlinghetti shows the husband and wife as traditional images in a pastoral imagination: the husband wears "green suspenders" like a farmer and the wife passes out grapes to squirrels as if she has a special relationship with them. In short, they are in touch with nature and are seemingly happy.
By the second stanza, however, Ferlinghetti shows the couple's distance. While they sit in the middle of this supposed paradise, they interact with nature "without looking at each other." This immediately taints the image of a happy couple sitting in a park paradise. After the husband falls asleep, the wife seems to attempt to connect with the birds above her. She anthropomorphizes their chirping and flying, turning them into intellectual beings that "question existence." Though she makes this observation, she fails to actually connect with the birds and instead lies prostrate next to her husband in a very defeated manner. When she finally decides to connect with her husband by acknowledging his presence, she looks at him "a certain awful look of terrible depression." This final line shows the utter hopelessness in this couple's relationship.
While poems about unhappy unions are nothing new, what makes this poem distinguishable is that the couple's relationship appears irreparable in a park that is supposed to symbolize natural beauty and unrelenting bliss. Golden Gate Park represents a haven where people get in touch with themselves and with each other. The couple in this poem, however, fails to do so. The park cannot mend them, which threatens the validity and power of the park. The park is not a savior; rather, it is only a greener place for people to ponder their unsolvable problems. Perhaps Ferlinghetti feels that the city has grown too big and thus grown too many problems for one pastoral sanctuary to fix. Or, perhaps Ferlinghetti insinuates that people rely too much on nature to be a saving grace -- ultimately, the world is too corrupt for nature to save it. Regardless, while San Francisco attempts to balance the natural and manmade world within the same city walls, the original meaning of the park is lost.
The tone in the beginning of the poem sets Golden Gate Park up to be this wondrous place of "enormous" proportions; it is "the meadow of the world." Ferlinghetti shows the husband and wife as traditional images in a pastoral imagination: the husband wears "green suspenders" like a farmer and the wife passes out grapes to squirrels as if she has a special relationship with them. In short, they are in touch with nature and are seemingly happy.
By the second stanza, however, Ferlinghetti shows the couple's distance. While they sit in the middle of this supposed paradise, they interact with nature "without looking at each other." This immediately taints the image of a happy couple sitting in a park paradise. After the husband falls asleep, the wife seems to attempt to connect with the birds above her. She anthropomorphizes their chirping and flying, turning them into intellectual beings that "question existence." Though she makes this observation, she fails to actually connect with the birds and instead lies prostrate next to her husband in a very defeated manner. When she finally decides to connect with her husband by acknowledging his presence, she looks at him "a certain awful look of terrible depression." This final line shows the utter hopelessness in this couple's relationship.
While poems about unhappy unions are nothing new, what makes this poem distinguishable is that the couple's relationship appears irreparable in a park that is supposed to symbolize natural beauty and unrelenting bliss. Golden Gate Park represents a haven where people get in touch with themselves and with each other. The couple in this poem, however, fails to do so. The park cannot mend them, which threatens the validity and power of the park. The park is not a savior; rather, it is only a greener place for people to ponder their unsolvable problems. Perhaps Ferlinghetti feels that the city has grown too big and thus grown too many problems for one pastoral sanctuary to fix. Or, perhaps Ferlinghetti insinuates that people rely too much on nature to be a saving grace -- ultimately, the world is too corrupt for nature to save it. Regardless, while San Francisco attempts to balance the natural and manmade world within the same city walls, the original meaning of the park is lost.
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