# XXV Licking the Arno explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Mina Loy.

## What happens

The chapter presents a poetic meditation on the transition from night to dawn, depicting human figures caught in a mechanical, repetitive cycle as the sun rises. Some individuals are consumed by passion and dissolved into emptiness, while a few achieve a detached, steely clarity, cutting their foothold in the cool plains of existence.

## Themes in this chapter

### Alienation and Belonging

The imagery of humans turning into machines and being melted into abysmal pigeon-holes evokes a sense of dehumanization and disconnection from authentic existence.

### The Body and Mortality

The melting of some into abysmal pigeon-holes and the cutting of foothold with steel eyes suggest bodily dissolution and the precariousness of life.

## Key lines

> The little rosy Tongue of Dawn Interferes with our eyelashes

The first light of dawn touches our closed eyes, interrupting our sleep.

_The dawn is personified as a small pink tongue, gently but insistently waking the sleepers._

> We twiddle to it Round and round Faster And turn into machines

We respond to the dawn by moving mechanically, faster and faster, losing our humanity.

_The repetitive motion suggests a loss of agency, as humans become machine-like in their response to the day._

> Melts some of us Into abysmal pigeon-holes Passion has bored

The heat of passion dissolves some people into empty, deep cavities.

_Passion is depicted as a force that hollows out individuals, leaving them empty and consumed._

> Some few of us Grow to the level of cool plains Cutting our foot-hold With steel eyes

A rare few rise to a state of detached clarity, severing their connection to the earth with a cold, steely gaze.

_These individuals achieve a kind of transcendence through a hard, unfeeling perception, cutting themselves off from the ground of ordinary life._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_17_se/chapters/xxv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_17_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_17_se/chapters