Poetry · Chapter
A House in Taos explained
Three individuals in a house in Taos experience a profound stillness and weariness under the thunder of the Rain God, contemplating the barrenness of their garden and hearts, the unattainable beauty of the moon, and the desire for the wind
What happens
Three individuals in a house in Taos experience a profound stillness and weariness under the thunder of the Rain God, contemplating the barrenness of their garden and hearts, the unattainable beauty of the moon, and the desire for the wind to unite their separate bodies and souls into one.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and the Elements
The poem invokes the Rain God, sun, moon, and wind as powerful forces that interact with the human condition in Taos.
Urban Life and Alienation
Despite the natural setting, the house and its inhabitants feel isolated, with 'barren hearts' and a longing for connection beyond their separate bodies.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The speaker 'I' who, along with 'you' and 'she', shares the experience of weariness and longing in the house in Taos.
Key passages
“Thunder of the Rain God: And we three Smitten by beauty. Thunder of the Rain God: And we three Weary, weary.”
The three of us are struck by beauty but also deeply tired.
The repetition of 'Thunder of the Rain God' frames their shared exhaustion.
“Do you understand the stillness Of this house in Taos Under the thunder of the Rain God?”
Can you grasp the quiet emptiness of this house beneath the storm's roar?
The stillness contrasts with the thunder, emphasizing a paradoxical calm.
“But that there should be three barren hearts In this one house in Taos— Who carries ugly things to show the sun?”
It's not strange the garden is barren, but that three hearts here are also empty—who brings their ugliness into the light?
The barren hearts mirror the barren garden, suggesting inner desolation.
“Touch our bodies, wind. Our bodies are separate individual things. Touch our bodies, wind, But blow quickly Through the red, white, yellow skins Of our bodies To the terrible snarl, Not mine, Not yours, Not hers, But all one snarl of souls.”
Wind, touch us and pass through our different-colored skins to reach the tangled mess of souls that is not separate but shared.
The wind is asked to transcend racial divisions and unite their inner turmoil.
“Blow quickly, wind, Before we run back into the windlessness— With our bodies— Into the windlessness Of our house in Taos.”
Hurry, wind, before we retreat into the airless stillness of our house, still trapped in our bodies.
The house represents a return to isolation and stagnation.