Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Donald Justice's "The Evening of the Mind" is a poignant exploration of introspection, memory, and the passage of time. The poem immerses the reader in a twilight of the mind, where the boundaries between reality and memory blur, creating a dreamlike atmosphere of reflection and melancholy.

The poem opens with the evocative line, “Now comes the evening of the mind,” immediately setting a tone of contemplative twilight, both literal and metaphorical. The evening suggests a time of winding down, of reflection, and the mind here seems to be entering a phase of deep introspection. The fireflies “twitching in the blood” introduce an image of internal activity, a stirring of memories or thoughts that are alive and flickering within.

Justice then directs our attention to a physical scene: “Here is the shadow moving down the page / Where you sit reading by the garden wall.” This image of reading in a garden creates a peaceful yet solitary setting, where the external shadows mirror the internal descent into deeper thought. The garden wall, a boundary, might symbolize the limits of the known world or the mind itself.

The description of the “dwarf peach trees, nailed to their trellises,” that “shudder and droop,” introduces a sense of strain and confinement. These trees, which are manipulated into a certain shape, can be seen as a metaphor for the human condition, constrained by circumstances and time. The “martyred peaches crying out / Your name” adds a layer of surrealism and personification, suggesting the weight of past actions and decisions calling out to the reader in a deeply personal and almost accusatory manner.

The phrase, “It is the aura and the coming on,” suggests an impending, almost mystical experience, as if the evening of the mind brings with it a profound realization or encounter. The “thing descending, circling, here” implies a presence or force that is closing in, creating a sense of inevitability and acceptance. The image of taking a “claw” in one’s lap with gratitude evokes a surrender to this mysterious force, an acknowledgment of the inevitable passage of time and the acceptance of one's own fate or destiny.

The second stanza shifts to a more specific memory or vision: “You said you would not go away again, / You did not want to go away—and yet.” This contradiction between desire and reality sets the stage for a vivid metaphorical journey. The speaker imagines standing on a dock, watching a boat drift away, representing a departure from the self or a journey into the depths of memory and subconscious.

As the boat “skims past old snags” and moves “beyond, beyond, under a brazen sky,” the journey becomes one through a surreal landscape, suspended in a timeless, soundless moment. The image of the sky “as soundless as a gong before it’s struck” captures a tension, a suspended moment of anticipation and silence before an inevitable event or realization.

The poem concludes with the striking image of the gong being struck, which breaks the suspension and brings the speaker back to the present: “now they strike it, now / The ether dream of five-years-old repeats, repeats.” This return to an early memory, an “ether dream,” signifies a cycle of recollection and the persistence of formative experiences. The final lines, “And you must wake again to your own blood / And empty spaces in the throat,” emphasize the return to the physical self, the body, and the inescapable reality of existence.

"The Evening of the Mind" thus captures the complexity of introspection and the inescapable nature of memory and time. Through its rich imagery and evocative language, the poem invites readers to reflect on their own experiences of contemplation and the persistent influence of the past on the present. Justice masterfully blends the surreal with the real, creating a haunting meditation on the evening of the mind.

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