In the vine-shadows on the veranda;
under the yellow leaves, in the cooling sun,
sit two sisters. Their slow voices run
like little winter creeks, dwindled by frost and wind,
and the square of sunlight moves on the veranda.
They remember the gay young men on their tall horses
who came courting; the dancing and the smells of leather
and wine, the girls whispering by the fire together;
even their dolls and ponies, all they have left behind
moves in the yellow shadows on the veranda.
Thinking of their lives apart and the men they married
thinking of the marriage-bed and the birth of their first
child,
they look down smiling. “My life was wide and wild,
and who can know my heart? There in that golden jungle
I walk alone,” say the old sisters on the veranda.
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the poem, The Sisters, by Judith Wright concerns two women, remeniscing the lives they once led. We undertsand the sisters are hold, hence "the old sisters," though even before this, we can gather the women are old as Wright uses a simile to describe their speech, "their slow voices run like little winter creeks dwindled by frost and wind." The sulight which moves across the veranda can be interpreted as a symbol of time - the youth they have surpassed. As the memories pass through their minds, time passes as does the sunlight. The women obviously enjoy the company of their men, as not only are the men mentioned of a positive nature, the "marriage-bed" is mentioned, suggesting the women still feel youthful and enjoyed the "courting, the dancing" and sex obviously is a great issue with youth, and the old women remeber with a great sense of nostalgia. The two are sisters and sisters are seen to confide within eachother as these two do, but like most, they have their personal secrets which are for themselves to know, "My life was wide and wild, and who can know my heart? there in that golden jungle i walk alone," undoubtedly proves this and this is something most readers can relate to. It is a wonderful thing to have a relationship with family or a friend, though some things stay private, and perhaps the sisters at this point reminisce something they choose not to tell.
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Yellow and golden seems to be an important analogy, as it is mentioned in every stanza. Doesn't yellow represent friendship and hope? Also I find the allusion to the golden jungle of their hearts interesting. A junge is wild and untamed, but in this case not dark or dangerous. It is golden. Is this to represent the hope that their 'wide and wild life' has been fulfilled. It has generated something worth remembering?
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This poem reeks of nostalga, two now elderly sisters, sitting on the veranda in the cool part of the day reminising, remembering their youth, their past escapades.. remembering a time when young men and women shone, I can almost smell the leather of the saddles, the gaiety of laughter, the vigour of youth that was prevelant at that time... now these two elderly ladies sit thinking, re-living their youth, smelling again the scents, seeing visions of their past as they talk amongst themselves. The mood imagery in this poem is excellent, almost as if the reader is right there listening to the conversation.
~Katie~
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i love this poem so thank you very much for featuring it. and double thanks seeing that it's an australian poet. i love the way she uses language.
goodonya mate! -
Immense! Golden is I think not an entirely sad thing...I think a thing learned in her life was the reality that we really always keep some aspect of ouselves private from the world. This concludes the realization that we are all truly islands.
Edited on May 18, 8:42 p.m. because ''. -
When the sisters say,"who can know my heart? there in that golden jungle I walk alone." It seems to me they are not really happy, it seems that they are sharing some secrets that only two of them can understand and share.
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I loved reading this, it appealed to me the first time I wrote it ready to post to OP. Two sisters with similar childhood memories who have lived different lives but have returned to the home of their childhood and seem so content. The whole theme of this poem to me is contentment - it's very relaxing to read and enjoy.
~von~
Edited on Sep 25, 10:21 p.m. because ''.
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