Home Fires
Home Fires - meaning Summary
Urban Immigrant Domestic Life
The poem observes an immigrant neighborhood on Rivington Street, focusing on small domestic scenes—children at play, pushcarts heavy with tomatoes, and makeshift meals in a Yiddish eatery. These images contrast urban poverty with retained traditions and shared memory. The closing line suggests a collective resilience: despite dislocation, people keep the idea of "home fires"—familiar comforts and cultural ties—alive in daily routines.
Read Complete AnalysesIN a Yiddish eating place on Rivington Street ... faces ... coffee spots ... children kicking at the night stars with bare toes from bare buttocks. They know it is September on Rivington when the red tomaytoes cram the pushcarts, Here the children snozzle at milk bottles, children who have never seen a cow. Here the stranger wonders how so many people remember where they keep home fires.
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