William Carlos Williams

The Lonely Street

The Lonely Street - meaning Summary

Girls in Summer Stillness

The poem observes schoolgirls on a hot afternoon, moving slowly and idly through a quiet street. Williams focuses on small, vivid details—their light dresses, candy sticks, and delicate gestures—to evoke youthful pleasure and a tender, slightly detached atmosphere. The scene reads as a quiet study of innocence, ephemeral beauty, and urban solitude, where ordinary summer moments become quietly charged with sensual and nostalgic undertones.

Read Complete Analyses

School is over. It is too hot to walk at ease. At ease in light frocks they walk the streets to while the time away. They have grown tall. They hold pink flames in their right hands. In white from head to foot, with sidelong, idle look-- in yellow, floating stuff, black sash and stockings-- touching their avid mouths with pink sugar on a stick-- like a carnation each holds in her hand-- they mount the lonely street.

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