Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Donald Justice’s "Last Evening: At the Piano" is a poignant exploration of the intersection of music, memory, and loss, interwoven with imagery of war and separation. Inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke, the poem reflects Justice’s characteristic ability to evoke complex emotions through precise language and evocative scenes. With its somber tone and layered imagery, the poem meditates on the human capacity to find beauty and connection even in the shadow of impending destruction.

The poem begins with an ambiguous yet foreboding image: "And night and far to go." This opening sets the tone for a narrative in which distance, both physical and emotional, plays a central role. The reference to "convoys" rolling by "like storm clouds in a troubled sky" introduces the backdrop of war, suggesting an atmosphere of unrest and inevitability. The convoys, moving steadily forward, evoke a sense of inexorable progress toward an uncertain fate. This imagery establishes the external world as one of chaos and disruption, a stark contrast to the intimate, confined space of the room where the man continues to play the piano.

The act of playing the piano becomes a central motif, representing both an attempt to impose order on chaos and a moment of fragile connection between the man and the woman. His music persists "for hours," despite the turmoil outside, underscoring the tension between art’s transient solace and the relentless march of time. When he "raised his eyes to hers," the moment becomes charged with unspoken emotion. Her eyes, described as "his mirror now," reflect his internal state, filled with "his clenched brow" and the anticipation of "the pain to come, or worse." The repetition of "or worse" heightens the ambiguity and dread, leaving open the possibility of fates beyond pain—loss, separation, or even death.

The emotional intensity of the scene reaches its peak in the line, "And then the image blurred." This blurring of the image mirrors the dissolution of clarity and certainty in their shared experience. The woman’s shift to the window signifies a retreat from their immediate connection. She gazes "back through the fading room," her perspective now tinged with nostalgia and detachment. The room itself, fading into the past, becomes a metaphor for their fleeting moment of intimacy, soon to be overshadowed by the inevitability of departure.

Justice introduces the officer’s jacket as a powerful symbol of absence and transformation. Draped across a chair, the jacket "hung like the coats scarecrows wear," an image that evokes emptiness and abandonment. The comparison to a scarecrow emphasizes the lifelessness of the garment, a hollow shell of the person who once wore it. The simile also suggests fear and fragility, as "the bird-shadows flee and scatter from" the scarecrow. The jacket becomes a stand-in for the man himself, a reminder of his vulnerability and the precariousness of their shared moment.

The final lines deepen the sense of foreboding with the comparison of the jacket to "the skin of some great battle drum." This metaphor encapsulates the looming presence of war, linking the personal and the political, the intimate and the collective. The drum, a symbol of conflict and rallying cries, resonates with the inevitability of the man’s departure and the broader violence that frames their interaction. The juxtaposition of the jacket’s stillness with the drum’s implied sound underscores the tension between silence and action, presence and absence.

Justice’s allusion to Rilke enriches the poem’s exploration of separation and the human response to impending loss. Like Rilke, Justice delves into the emotional resonance of everyday objects and gestures, imbuing them with layers of meaning. The piano, the mirror of her eyes, the fading room, and the jacket all serve as conduits for the characters’ inner lives, revealing their fears, hopes, and unspoken desires. The poem’s meditative quality invites readers to reflect on their own experiences of love, loss, and the ways in which we seek solace in art and memory.

The structure of the poem, with its enjambment and measured cadence, mirrors the rhythm of the piano music described within it. The interplay between long, flowing lines and shorter, abrupt phrases captures the ebb and flow of emotion, from moments of connection to instances of disquiet. The poem’s diction is precise yet evocative, with phrases like "the coats scarecrows wear" and "the skin of some great battle drum" conveying both visual and emotional complexity.

In "Last Evening: At the Piano", Donald Justice crafts a haunting narrative of love and loss against the backdrop of war. Through its rich imagery and lyrical language, the poem explores the tension between transience and permanence, connection and separation. The piano serves as both a literal and metaphorical anchor, representing the fragile beauty of shared moments in a world overshadowed by conflict. Justice’s ability to capture profound emotion within a small, intimate scene speaks to his mastery as a poet, leaving readers with a lasting impression of the interplay between art, memory, and the human condition.

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