© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

For The Autumnal Equinox, A Poem As Chilling As The Fall Weather

This time of year always reminds me of a wonderfully autumnal poem called "How to Like It," by Stephen Dobyns. Set in "the first days of fall," the poem describes a man whose summer seems long over: Old memories weigh on him, and new adventures feel just out of reach.

But that doesn't stop him from dreaming of one. He envisions a long road trip in heart-rending detail, from the "dusty smell of the car heater" to the pines by "the edge of the shoulder" to the triumphant moment when, "at dusk he'll crest a hill / and there, filling a valley, will be the lights / of a city entirely new to him." The richness of the fantasy suggests how much he wants it to come true.

The man imagines all this movement while standing still — in front of his house, accompanied by his dog. His dog, surprisingly enough, can talk. While the man doesn't speak his desires aloud, the dog does verbalize its wishes. And it has a lot of them. "Let's go downtown and get crazy drunk. / Let's tip over all the trash cans we can find." "Let's dig holes everywhere."

Perhaps the dog is a projection of the man, a canine id that reveals its owner's basest desires. Either way, the man generally ignores the dog's hopes — a poignant reflection of his tendency to ignore his own.

The poem concludes with a final instruction from the pet:

It's an unsettling account of an unsettled man — and as chilling as autumn weather.

Abigail Deutsch is a writer based in New York. Her last article was about her hunt for the author of an anonymous couplet on a New York City park sign.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Abigail Deutsch

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.