Original poem reprinted online here: "Talking in Bed" by Philip Larkin Originally read: August 23, 2013 More information about the Poet: Philip Larkin The poem opens up with a conceit, "Talking in bed ought to be easiest.". Past me noted that the word "ought" is the key word here. The conceit here is to understand what the problem is with "talking in bed" and also figuring out the subtext of such difficulties, "Lying together there goes back so far, / An emblem of two people being honest." And here there is a sense of snark in the lines especially the question of earnestness of "tow people being honest." "Yet more and more times passes silently / Outside, the wind's incomplete unrest / Builds and disperses clouds about the sky." I think the key with this stanza is the train of thought. Instead of explaining the difficulties, the poem actually shows it. As the time passes, the change happens with a shift...
Formerly the RetailMFA, This is the Poetry Blog of Darrell Dela Cruz