Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

James Galvin’s poem "Depending on the Wind" is a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the passage of time. Through a narrative divided into two distinct sections, Galvin reflects on the transformative experiences of building a home, creating a family, and ultimately confronting solitude and memory.

In the first section, the poem opens with a nostalgic recollection: “A score of years ago I felled a hundred pines to build a house.” This line immediately sets a tone of dedication and effort, emphasizing the significant labor involved in constructing a home. The house, described as “Two stories, seven rooms in all,” symbolizes not just a physical structure, but a labor of love, built for the speaker’s family. The anticipation of a new life is palpable: “Our daughter was in orbit in the womb,” suggesting a future filled with hope and potential.

Galvin’s description of the house’s surroundings—“Mountains spun off like the arm / of a galaxy into the emptiness our windows framed”—evokes a sense of grandeur and isolation. The awe-inspiring view becomes a metaphor for the vast possibilities and the boundless love that the speaker felt at that time. The friends’ exclamations about the “Sunsets to die for every single night!” add to the idyllic image of this period, filled with beauty and the promise of eternal happiness.

The second section marks a stark contrast, plunging into the “Vertigo of solitude.” The speaker’s life has transformed dramatically: “my wife untrue, my daughter flown.” The past tense and the words “like a widower or worse” convey a profound sense of loss and betrayal. The once cherished home now feels like a tomb, filled with memories that amplify the speaker’s loneliness. The “closed door is panic, and spaces grow immense with memory,” highlighting how the physical spaces of the house have become overwhelming reminders of what once was.

Galvin’s reflection on the ephemeral nature of family and love is deeply melancholic: “Gone that arrangement of allegiances called family / we never really know before it ends.” This line underscores the idea that the true value and fragility of family and love often become apparent only in their absence. The memories of “tiny joys, tinier dramas” are likened to pollen, delicate and pervasive, covering everything with a layer of the past.

The vivid details—“brightly colored clothespins on the line, a cross-shaped coral earring whose match is lost, books of fairy tales we read aloud at night”—bring the lost moments to life, emphasizing their poignancy and the speaker’s deep sense of loss. The self-deprecating phrase “I must be dumb as a gunnysack of hammers” conveys the speaker’s regret and bewilderment at having believed in the permanence of his happiness.

The poem concludes with a haunting question: “What did I love that made me / believe it would last?” This rhetorical question encapsulates the speaker’s sense of disillusionment and the harsh realization that even the most cherished aspects of life are subject to change and loss.

"Depending on the Wind" is a powerful meditation on the impermanence of life’s most cherished elements. Through its reflective narrative and rich imagery, Galvin captures the profound emotional journey from the hopeful beginnings of building a home and a family to the heart-wrenching solitude of their absence. The poem’s exploration of memory, loss, and the passage of time invites readers to consider the transient nature of happiness and the enduring impact of love, even when it is gone.

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