The Underground
The Underground - meaning Summary
Memory After Pursuit
The poem recalls a hurried walk through a London Underground tunnel after a late evening out, with the speaker chasing a companion whose coat loses its buttons as they run. The vivid scene becomes a memory of love, pursuit, and separation: the speaker later imagines tracing the route back and waiting at the station for the other person to follow. It leaves a strong sense of longing and unfinished connection.
Read Complete AnalysesThere we were in the vaulted tunnel running, You in your going-away coat speeding ahead And me, me then like a fleet god gaining Upon you before you turned to a reed Or some new white flower japped with crimson As the coat flapped wild and button after button Sprang off and fell in a trail Between the Underground and the Albert Hall. Honeymooning, mooning around, late for the Proms, Our echoes die in that corridor and now I come as Hansel came on the moonlit stones Retracing the path back, lifting the buttons To end up in a draughty lamplit station After the trains have gone, the wet track Bared and tensed as I am, all attention For your step following and damned if I look back.
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