About Poet-Derek Walcott
XIV (Fourteen) is a poem by Sir Derek Alton Walcott from his poetry collection ‘Midsummer’ written in 1984. In this poem, the poet shares a childhood memory of a summer spent with his twin brother Roderick Walcott and his mother, who loved to tell stories.
The poem is from a collection of 54 poems published in Midsummer, each poem referring to a particular year of the poet’s life, till the collection was published. Hence this poem is titled XIV which signifies his experience of summer days at that age.
XIV Poem by Derek Walcott
With the frenzy of an old snake shedding its skin,
the speckled road, scored with ruts, smelling of mold,
twisted on itself and reentered the forest
where the dasheen1 leaves thicken and folk stories begin.
5 Sunset would threaten us as we climbed closer
to her house up the asphalt hill road, whose yam vines
wrangled over gutters with the dark reek of moss,
the shutters closing like the eyelids of that mimosa2
called Ti-Marie; then — lucent as paper lanterns,
10 lamplight glowed through the ribs, house after house —
there was her own lamp at the black twist of the path.
There’s childhood, and there’s childhood’s aftermath.
She began to remember at the minute of the fireflies,
to the sound of pipe water banging in kerosene tins,
15 stories she told to my brother and myself.
Her leaves were the libraries of the Caribbean.
The luck that was ours, those fragrant origins!
Her head was magnificent, Sidone. In the gully of her voice
shadows stood up and walked, her voice travels my shelves.
20 She was the lamplight in the stare of two mesmerized boys
still joined in one shadow, indivisible twins.
1 dasheen: tropical plant with large leaves
2 mimosa: tropical plant whose leaves close or droop when touched or shaken
Stanza-wise summary of the poem XIV
In the first four lines of poem XIV, the speaker compares the road to an old snake shedding its skin. He describes the road in detail indicating that it is not smooth. He also explains how the road has re-entered the forest where tropical plants grow, giving a perfect setting for the narration of folk stories.
In the next five lines, the speaker describes the forest surrounding the asphalt (black or brown petroleum-like material that has a consistency varying from viscous liquid to glassy solid.) road. He describes the climb uphill, at sunset, to his mother’s house where plants such as yam vines, moss, and touch-me-not plants (locally called Ti-Marie) grow.
He compares the shutters being pulled down over the windows of the house to the leaves of the mimosa (Ti-Marie) that close when touched, and the lamplight glowing through the windows to luminous paper lanterns (lucent as paper lanterns).
The speaker describes his mother’s house and the time at which she begins telling stories in the next five lines. He says that lamplight glowed through the ribs of the houses he passed by. His mother’s house is located at the black twist of the path. She begins telling her stories at the time the fireflies appear and the sound of pipe water banging in kerosene tins.
The next five lines of the poem depict in detail the speaker’s mother’s storytelling abilities. Though they didn’t have a library, the forest of the Caribbean itself seems to make up for that. Both his twin brother and he enjoy their mother’s stories.
Through her storytelling abilities, she brings life to the characters in her story (In the gully of her voice shadows stood up and walked), so much so that in his later years the poet can still hear her voice.
In the last two lines, the speaker ends his narration with a concluding statement. He associates his mother with a lamplight that has mesmerized her sons with her words. By listening to her the brothers seem to have become like indivisible twins.
Themes in the poem XIV by Derek Walcott
Central Theme of XIV
Childhood Memories
The central theme of this poem is childhood memories and the poet’s fondness for his mother’s stories. The poem evokes nostalgia in the reader as the poet reminisces about his childhood days.
The poet portrays very vividly how he spent the summer during that year of his life. He gives a clear image of the trees and plants that grow in his hometown during summer, how his brother and he make the difficult climb uphill to their mother’s house and how they look forward to and enjoy her stories of folklore that keep them captivated throughout.
The poem reflects Derek Walcott’s most cherished memories of growing up on a Caribbean Island, as a young boy of fourteen.
Line-by-line interpretation of the poem XIV
With the frenzy of an old snake shedding its skin,
the speckled road, scored with ruts, smelling of mold,
twisted on itself and reentered the forest
where the dasheen1 leaves thicken and folk stories begin.
The poet uses a metaphor to describe the road by comparing it to an old snake agitatedly shedding its skin. He uses imagery to describe the road. He says that the road is speckled, and scored with ruts which means it is a rough road and is full of potholes.
It is smelling of mold which means that it is not well-maintained and has mold, a growth caused by fungus. The poet thus appeals to the visual and olfactory senses of the reader.
The road has twisted on itself and reentered the forest showing that the path is crooked and not straight and leads into a forest. The forest road is surrounded by tropical plants with thick leaves (dasheen leaves thicken) symbolic of an entryway for his mother’s folk stories.
5 Sunset would threaten us as we climbed closer
to her house up the asphalt hill road, whose yam vines
wrangled over gutters with the dark reek of moss,
The poet says that it is sunset when his brother and he make their journey which means they are walking after dusk. He also says that Sunset would threaten us as we climbed closer because as they climb higher it gives them the illusion that the sun is growing larger on the horizon.
They climb to reach her house. Though it is not very clear who “her” refers to, it is most likely the poet’s mother who is known to have loved arts and to recite poetry around the house.
They climb up the asphalt hill road where yam vines wrangled over gutters with the dark reek of moss. Here the poet uses personification to show that the path they are taking is not very comfortable to walk on as vines of the yam tuber and the green moss growing in the gutters seemed to be in a fight for survival (yam vines wrangled).
the shutters closing like the eyelids of that mimosa2
called Ti-Marie; then — lucent as paper lanterns,
Since it is sunset, people living in houses around the path begin to pull down the shutters over their windows. The poet uses a simile to compare this scene to the touch-me-not plant that closes its leaves as a reflex action to touch (closing like the eyelids of that mimosa called Ti-Marie).
The poet uses the scientific name as well as the local name “Ti-Marie” to describe the plant. As soon as the residents shut the windows, they put on their lamplight which seems to the poet’s mind as lucent (luminous) as paper lanterns.
10 lamplights glowed through the ribs, house after house —
there was her own lamp at the black twist of the path.
The lamplight glowed through the window panes which he describes as “ribs”. Every house in the street has its lamps lit when he spots his mother’s own lamp at the black twist of the path which shows that her house is at the end of the road in a dark and desolate spot.
There’s childhood, and there’s childhood’s aftermath.
She began to remember at the minute of the fireflies,
to the sound of pipe water banging in kerosene tins,
15 stories she told to my brother and myself.
The poet alludes to his past and present and creates a contrast between the two (childhood, and there’s childhood’s aftermath). The moment fireflies begin to fly around at night, his mother begins her storytelling while the pipe water filling in kerosene tins creates a pleasant background noise. The audience consists of the poet and his brother.
Her leaves were the libraries of the Caribbean.
The luck that was ours, those fragrant origins!
Her head was magnificent, Sidone. In the gully of her voice
shadows stood up and walked, her voice travels my shelves.
The forests of the Caribbean are akin to the libraries that the boys did not have. The poet considers himself and his brother lucky because they can still listen to stories and folklore sitting amidst nature (The luck that was ours, those fragrant origins!)
He says that his mother has a magnificent head and calls her “Sidone”. She seemed to be able to bring life to the stories she told through the intonations in her speech (In the gully of her voice shadows stood up and walked), thus creating a lasting impression in the poet’s and his brother’s mind (her voice travels my shelves).
20 She was the lamplight in the stare of two mesmerized boys
still joined in one shadow, indivisible twins.
The poet ends the poem by stating that his mother is a lamplight that has mesmerized both the boys with her words. The brothers are twins and they have become like one shadow and indivisible twins in being captivated by their mother’s words.
Analysis of the poem XIV
In this poem, Sir Derek Alton Walcott recounts how he spent the summer at age fourteen listening to his mother’s stories on a Caribbean Island. The poet uses metaphors and imagery to support his narration. Through his narrative he guides the reader through the journey he makes, thus giving the readers the impression that they are walking themselves. His use of imagery as a literary device is powerful.
The poet’s description of the road in the first four lines is interesting as he compares it to a snake. He also seems to be fascinated by the forests surrounding that path. The poet’s eagerness to listen to folk stories is apparent in the fourth line of the poem.
It seems that the poet is very close to nature and uses elements of nature as metaphors. It also seems that he was familiar with his hometown’s local plants as he mentions yam and mimosa in the next five lines.
The poet and his twin are fascinated by their mother’s storytelling abilities as it has left a great impression on their minds. Though the poet does not specifically mention his mother anywhere, we can assume that the storyteller is his mother as she was known to have loved art and poetry. The poem is written in free verse and has twenty-one lines. It is lyrical in nature and has no specific rhyme scheme or meter.
Poetic Devices used in the poem XIV
Metaphor:
For eg “frenzy of an old snake shedding its skin,” “sunset would threaten us”, “leaves were libraries of Caribbean”, “lamplight glowed through the ribs”, “there’s childhood and there’s childhood’s aftermath” etc
Imagery:
“speckled road, scored with ruts” (visual imagery), “smelling of mold” (olfactory imagery) etc
Simile:
“shutters closing like eyelids of that mimosa”, “Lucent as paper lanterns”
Personification:
“sunset would threaten us”, “yam vines wrangled over the gutters with the dark reek of moss”
Enjambment:
It occurs throughout the poem. For example: “twisted on itself and reentered the forest/ where the dasheen leaves thicken and folk stories begin.”
Alliteration:
For example “the speckled road, scored with ruts, smelling of mold,”
