Winter Milk
Winter Milk - meaning Summary
Innocence and Winter Light
The poem addresses a small child, Helga, celebrating a moment of innocent growth as she drinks milk from a cup. The milk spatter on her chin is described as a "high holy" white against her cranberry cheeks and winter-blue eyes, linking physical detail to spiritual brightness. The speaker contrasts this rite of passage with earlier bottle-feeding and encourages Helga to keep drinking, associating the act with youthful possibility and the fresh promise of winter.
Read Complete AnalysesTHE MILK drops on your chin, Helga, Must not interfere with the cranberry red of your cheeks Nor the sky winter blue of your eyes. Let your mammy keep hands off the chin. This is a high holy spatter of white on the reds and blues. Before the bottle was taken away, Before you so proudly began today Drinking your milk from the rim of a cup They did not splash this high holy white on your chin. There are dreams in your eyes, Helga. Tall reaches of wind sweep the clear blue. The winter is young yet, so young. Only a little cupful of winter has touched your lips. Drink on ... milk with your lips ... dreams with your eyes.
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