In the Harbour: from the French
In the Harbour: from the French - meaning Summary
Memory as Lingering Presence
Longfellow's poem mourns lost June days of lilacs and bluebirds while insisting that their emotional imprint endures. The speaker recalls intimate, eager moments that felt like footsteps and a soft knocking at the heart's gate. Though the actual past may not return, its presence lingers "like a perfume," a formless phantom of the heart that preserves longing, memory, and the mix of delight and fear tied to love's anticipation.
Read Complete AnalysesWill ever the dear days come back again, Those days of June, when lilacs were in bloom, And bluebirds sang their sonnets in the gloom Of leaves that roofed them in from sun or rain? I know not; but a presence will remain For ever and for ever in this room, Formless, diffused in air, like a perfume,-- A phantom of the heart, and not the brain. Delicious days! when every spoken word Was like a foot-fall nearer and more near And a mysterious knocking at the gate Of the heart's secret places, and we heard In the sweet tumult of delight and fear A voice that whispered, "Open, I cannot wait!"
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