Introduction to English Literature(2020-1)
 

 

Leaving the Motel


Outside, the last kids holler
Near the pool: they’ll stay the night. Pick up the towels; fold your collar 
Out of sight.

Check: is the second bed 
Unrumpled, as agreed? 
Landlords have to think ahead 
In case of need,

Too. Keep things straight: don’t take
The matches, the wrong keyrings—
We’ve nowhere we could keep a keepsake— 
Ashtrays, combs, things

∝ Keepsake: anything kept, or given to be kept, as a token of friendship or affection; remembrance

That sooner or later others
Would accidentally find.
Check: take nothing of one another’s
And leave behind

Your license number only, Which they won’t care to trace;
We’ve paid. Still, should such things get lonely, Leave in their vase

An aspirin to preserve
Our lilacs, the wayside flowers

We’ve gathered and must leave to serve
A few more hours;

That’s all. We can’t tell when
We’ll come back, can’t press claims,
We would no doubt have other rooms then, Or other names.


In poetry, enjambment (/ɛnˈmbmənt/ or /ɛnˈmmənt/; from the French enjambement) is incomplete syntax at the end of a line;[2] the meaning runs over from one poetic line to the next, without terminal punctuation. Lines without enjambment are end-stopped.

 

The title and details of "Leaving the Motel" indicate  the situation and setting: Two secret lovers are at the end of an afternoon sexual encounter in a motel room (perhaps  one is speaking for both of them),  reminding  themselves  not to leave or take with them any clues for “others” (line 13)—their spouses?—to  find. Whereas  many poems on the topic of love confirm an enduring  attachment or express desire or suggest erotic experience,  this poem focuses on the effort to erase a stolen  encounter. The  two lovers have no names;  indeed,  they have registered under false names. They have already paid for this temporary shelter,  can’t stay the night like other guests or build a home with children  of their own, and are running through  a checklist of their agreements and duties (“Check,” “Keep things straight,” “Check” [lines 5, 9, 15]). Other than the “wayside” lilacs (line 22), the objects mentioned  are trivial, from matches and keyrings to license  numbers. The matter-of-fact but hurried tone suggests that they wish to hide any deep feelings (hinted  at in the last two stanzas in the wish to make “claims” or preserve flowers [line 26]). The failure to express love—or guilt—enhances the effect when the tone shifts, at the word “still” (line 19), to the second thoughts about leaving something  behind.  The poem’s  short  rhyming  lines,  sounding  brisk and  somewhat  impersonal, contrast with the situation and add to the tone of subdued regret that nothing lasts (463-64).

 

 

 

 

 

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