N. Y
N. Y - meaning Summary
Urban Longing Personified
The speaker addresses New York as a beloved, slender maiden and vows to breathe a soul into the city. He alternates between an idealized vision and a disenchanted present—crowds, traffic, and a sense of madness that prevents him from exercising his art. The poem contrasts intimate invocation and imaginative possession with urban reality, ending in a repeated pledge to animate the city and grant it an enduring life.
Read Complete AnalysesMy City, my beloved, my white! Ah, slender, Listen! Listen to me, and I will breathe into thee a soul. Delicately upon the reed, attend me! Now do I know that I am mad, For here are a million people surly with traffic; This is no maid. Neither could I play upon any reed if I had one. My City, my beloved, Thou art a maid with no breasts, Thou art slender as a silver reed. Listen to me, attend me! And I will breathe into thee a soul, And thou shalt live for ever.
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