Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Donald Justice’s poem "After-School Practice: A Short Story" is an evocative narrative that blurs the boundaries between the interior and exterior worlds, reflecting a young pianist?s interaction with music, memory, and environment. Through precise imagery and restrained language, Justice captures a moment of solitary reflection and creative expression, framed by the physical and emotional constraints of apartment life.

The poem opens with a vivid description of rain pressing "too hard" against the boy’s forehead, metaphorically compressing his world. The rain serves as both an external phenomenon and a representation of his inner state, emphasizing isolation and confinement in a new apartment. The imagery of umbrellas carried along the "current of the sidewalk" and a bus gliding "like a giant planchette" suggests a sense of predetermination and mysterious, ungraspable forces at play. The boy observes these movements from a distance, his detachment underscored by his position at the window, physically removed from the life teeming below.

This physical separation mirrors the emotional distance the boy feels in his new home. The "dark cloud shouldering in" serves as a symbol of his unease and possibly his loneliness. Justice subtly conveys the tension between the external world and the boy’s internal one, using the rain and apartment life as metaphors for the pressures and limitations he experiences. The boy’s wish for the baby next door to awaken and cry reflects his desire for permission to break the silence—an acknowledgment of how apartment living imposes constraints on personal freedom, particularly in the realm of sound.

When the baby finally cries, providing the anticipated cue, the boy delays his practice, creating a poignant moment of hesitation. This pause illustrates the weight of his thoughts and the contemplative space he inhabits before creating music. Justice describes him as "full of secrets," highlighting the depth of his interior life and the significance of the moment he is about to experience. This preparation is described with ritualistic precision, as the boy carefully readies himself to strike "one dark, tremendous chord / Never heard before—his own thunder!" The language here is powerful and dramatic, emphasizing the act of creation as an assertion of identity and agency.

The chord itself becomes a transformative event, described in visceral terms as the "throbbing / Of the piano’s great exposed heart." The personification of the piano aligns with the boy’s emotional intensity, suggesting that the music he creates is an extension of his inner life. The held pedal allows the sound to resonate, prolonging the moment and symbolizing the release of pent-up emotion. The imagery of the "strings quivering" evokes both vulnerability and power, encapsulating the catharsis that music provides.

Following this burst of energy, the boy transitions into playing scales, a routine exercise that represents discipline and order. This shift from the "dark, tremendous chord" to the structured repetition of scales reflects a reconciliation of passion and control, chaos and calm. The scales ground him, providing a sense of stability and focus in contrast to the earlier storm of emotion.

The poem concludes with the storm outside gradually subsiding, mirroring the boy’s own internal storm. This parallel underscores the connection between his music and the natural world, suggesting that art has the power to harmonize inner and outer realities. The storm’s resolution aligns with the boy’s return to routine, leaving the reader with a sense of quiet after the intensity of creative expression.

"After-School Practice: A Short Story" is a nuanced exploration of solitude, creativity, and the interplay between external and internal landscapes. Justice’s restrained language and attention to detail create a vivid portrait of a young artist grappling with his environment and emotions. The poem captures the transformative power of music as both a personal and universal language, capable of articulating what words cannot. In its depiction of a single, ordinary moment, Justice reveals the extraordinary depth of human experience.

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