Anthology - Winter Swans

The clouds had given their all -

two days of rain and then a break

in which we walked,

the waterlogged earth

gulping for breath at our feet

as we skirted the lake, silent and apart,

until the swans came and stopped us

with a show of tipping in unison.

As if rolling weights down their bodies to their heads

they halved themselves in the dark water,

icebergs of white feather, paused before returning again

like boats righting in rough weather.

‘They mate for life’ you said as they left,

porcelain over the stilling water. I didn’t reply

but as we moved on through the afternoon light,

slow-stepping in the lake’s shingle and sand,

I noticed our hands, that had, somehow,

swum the distance between us

and folded, one over the other,

like a pair of wings settling after flight.

THEMES:

  • romantic relationships

  • nature

  • distance

  • broken relationships

  • reunion

FORM:

  • dramatic monologue

    • represents isolation without a partner

STRUCTURE:

  • six regular tercets

    • represents barrier between speaker and addressee

  • single couplet

    • represents reunion of speaker and addressee

  • free verse

    • creates conversational and natural tone

    • suggests flexible nature of relationships

  • enjambment

    • creates conversational and natural tone

LANGUAGE:

  • semantic field of pairings

    • pathetic fallacy, extended metaphor, natural imagery - “two days of rain“

    • simile, natural imagery - “like a pair of wings settling after flight“

    • extended metaphor, dark imagery - “halved themselves in the dark water“

    • speech, direct address - “‘they mate for life’ you said“

  • natural imagery

    • pathetic fallacy, extended metaphor, personification - “the clouds had given their all“

    • sibilance, extended metaphor - “slow-stepping in the lake’s shingle and sand“

    • pathetic fallacy, light imagery, extended metaphor - “we moved on through the afternoon light“

    • personification, enjambment, extended metaphor - “waterlogged earth // gulping for breath“

  • metaphor, sibilance, ‘h’ alliteration, synecdoche - “our hands, that had, somehow, swum the distance between us“

CONTEXT:

  • written by Owen Sheers

  • poetry focuses on exploring relationships and identity

  • poetry often uses nature and landscapes