Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Only One Thing on His Mind" by Robert Desnos is a captivating blend of the surreal and the mundane, presenting a narrative that twists through unexpected imagery and encounters. The poem opens with a whimsical and somewhat absurd scene of the speaker brushing the teeth of a chameleon, which is depicted as a "lovely animal" that smokes cigarettes, setting the tone for a journey through a world where the ordinary is transformed into the extraordinary.

The encounter on the stairs with a woman who declares "I mauve" while the speaker becomes "crystal in open skies" under her gaze introduces a theme of transformation and identity. This interaction, characterized by color and light, suggests a meeting not just between two people, but between two distinct states of being, highlighting the fluidity of identity and perception in Desnos's surreal universe.

The poem's language is playful and enigmatic, with phrases like "padlock and mistress! You yellow pine in vessel fine I to seat if road vault" defying straightforward interpretation and inviting readers into a space where meaning is mutable and multi-layered. This use of language creates a dream-like atmosphere where logic is subordinate to the associative flow of ideas and images.

As the narrative progresses, the poem delves deeper into the realm of the surreal, with "the stairs, always the stairs turning library" and "the crowd abysmally lower than sun can clash." These images evoke a sense of dislocation and vertigo, suggesting a world in constant flux, where physical and conceptual boundaries are blurred.

The verdict that "the dancer will be shot at dawn wearing tutu and bijoux sacrificed in the flames of her body" introduces a note of foreboding and drama, juxtaposing the act of artistic or personal expression (the dancer) with a sense of impending doom. This contrast serves to underscore the poem's exploration of the tensions between creation and destruction, freedom and constraint.

In the concluding lines, the speaker reflects on their own reflection ("But already I mirror") and contemplates the notion of eternity and memory ("they mill in sempiternal eternity"). This contemplation of the self and the passage of time ties together the poem's themes of identity, transformation, and the enduring nature of art and love amidst the ephemeral world.

"Only One Thing on His Mind" is a testament to Desnos's mastery of surrealism, offering a narrative that is both intimately personal and expansively cosmic. Through its rich, evocative imagery and its playful manipulation of language, the poem invites readers to explore the depths of their own imaginations, to question the nature of reality and identity, and to revel in the beauty of the unexpected and the unknown.

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