Three Balls
Three Balls - meaning Summary
Quiet Observation of Decay
The poem quietly observes a storefront display of three neglected objects—a family Bible, a broken clock, and a chipped crucifix—over time. The speaker notes their continued, mute presence and introduces a small living detail, a yellow cat, that softens the scene. Repetition of the opening line about rain washing the "dusty three balls" frames the image as ordinary neglect and slow continuity, suggesting themes of memory, decay, and modest persistence.
Read Complete AnalysesJABOWSKY'S place is on a side street and only the rain washes the dusty three balls. When I passed the window a month ago, there rested in proud isolation: A family bible with hasps of brass twisted off, a wooden clock with pendulum gone, And a porcelain crucifix with the glaze nicked where the left elbow of Jesus is represented. I passed today and they were all there, resting in proud isolation, the clock and the crucifix saying no more and no less than before, and a yellow cat sleeping in a patch of sun alongside the family bible with the hasps off. Only the rain washes the dusty three balls in front of Jabowsky's place on a side street.
Feel free to be first to leave comment.