Mean Particles
Mean Particles - meaning Summary
Unsettling Drift Toward Acceptance
The poem sketches an ambiguous street scene where a father and two assistants leave as a second washes the pavement and a woman asks why they came to this damp citadel. The speaker meditates on variable days, the patient’s detached reasoning, and attempts to force meaning through song, negotiation, or force. Images collapse into a quiet resignation as the ballads retreat and the reader is told to make peace.
Read Complete AnalysesSometimes something like a second washes the base of this street. The father and his two assistants are given permission to go. One of them, a woman, asks, "Why did we come here in the first place, to this citadel of dampness?" Some days are worse than others, even if we can't believe in them. But that was never a concern of mine, reasoned the patient. Sing, scroll, or never be blasted by us into marmoreal meaning, or the fist for it. Kudos to the prince who journeyed here to negotiate our release, if you can believe it. You're right. The ballads are retreating back into the atmosphere. They won't be coming round again. Make your peace.
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