Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Derek Walcott’s "Homecoming: 2" is a lyrical exploration of identity, language, and cultural displacement. The poem reflects the complexities of the speaker’s return to the Caribbean, where he faces both the natural environment and his own sense of betrayal and alienation. Through vibrant imagery and a rich interplay of voices, Walcott grapples with the tension between his dual allegiances—to his Caribbean homeland and to the wider literary world shaped by European culture and language.

The poem opens with a vivid description of the natural world. The "blades of the oleander" are compared to "green knives," suggesting a sharpness and hostility in the environment. The casuarinas, which are "as alien as olives," reinforce the speaker's sense of estrangement. These natural elements, personified as if they are actively reacting to the speaker’s presence, seem to judge him for his absence and his betrayal of his roots. The "bougainvillea’s lips" that are "aghast" give the impression that nature itself is shocked or accusatory, symbolizing the speaker’s guilt for having turned away from his homeland.

As the speaker moves along the "ochre road," he hears the "noise of their lives," the trees’ voices filled with "rage" and "fitful disenchantment." This rage, rooted in the landscape, shakes with every gust of wind, symbolizing the speaker’s feeling of disconnection from the land and its people. The poem then shifts into a dialogue between the speaker and the trees, where the trees accuse him of abandoning the language and culture of his homeland in favor of the "gutturals of low tide," the sounds of the city and the foreign places he has lived.

The trees remind the speaker, "We offered you language early, an absolute choice." This statement underscores the sense of betrayal felt by the speaker's homeland, which provided him with a foundation in language and culture that he has seemingly forsaken. The mention of Joyce, a reference to the Irish writer James Joyce, who also grappled with questions of identity and language, reinforces the tension between the local and the cosmopolitan. The speaker has followed a similar path to Joyce, choosing the "unwritten dirt road" of literature, but at the cost of turning away from the language of his homeland.

When the speaker attempts to defend himself, saying, "I have tried to serve both," his response provokes a "roar from the leaves," as if the natural world rejects his claim. The trees accuse him of betrayal, asserting that while he may have tried to balance his Caribbean heritage with his literary ambitions, he has ultimately failed. The speaker’s assertion that "all the trees of the world shared a common elation of tongues" is met with skepticism, as the trees insist that his connection to his homeland has been lost: "You lie, your right hand forgot its origin, O Jerusalem."

The reference to Jerusalem, a biblical allusion, further emphasizes the idea of exile and spiritual loss. The speaker's "right hand," traditionally a symbol of strength and skill, has forgotten its origin, signifying his alienation from his roots. The phrase "profitable cunning" suggests that the speaker’s literary success may have come at the expense of his cultural authenticity, furthering the sense of betrayal.

The poem concludes with the trees maintaining their silence, refusing to engage further with the speaker. The "dividing wind" becomes a metaphor for the rift between the speaker and his homeland, as the road and the sun, both English words, endure in their foreignness. The speaker is left in a state of unresolved tension, caught between the demands of his cultural heritage and the broader world of language and literature that he has chosen to inhabit.

In "Homecoming: 2", Walcott reflects on the struggles of cultural identity, particularly for those who have left their homeland in pursuit of broader artistic or intellectual ambitions. The poem’s dialogue between the speaker and the trees serves as a metaphor for the internal conflict between belonging and exile, between loyalty to one’s roots and the desire to explore new territories. Through this tension, Walcott explores the price of leaving home and the complexities of trying to reconcile different aspects of one’s identity.

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