Interpretation of "the moon in the streets"

(Click here for text of Friesen's poem.)

Patrick Friesen’s “the moon in the streets,” depicts a sorrowful depressed man wandering the streets of his city well after dark has set in. His word choices (such as “sunk,” “shadows,” “death,” and “disorder") work together to portray a gloomy, melancholy night. Even his lighter, more mood-lifting adjectives are placed adjacent to words that portray a sense of sadness or gloominess; for example, “houses” are objects commonly thought of with warmth, but, by describing them as “shadows,” he depicts a sense of loneliness. This poem consists of five quatrains. Friesen also doesn’t include any punctuation or capitalization other than the word “I.”

In the first stanza, Friesen introduces us to the speaker's depressed mood through his use of depressive words such as “shadows,” “sunk” and “break.” We can safely assume that he is awake and outside at a late hour. “all the houses are shadows” imparts a sense of late night loneliness. Shadows are not usually considered welcoming; therefore, this metaphor imparts a sense of homelessness. He actually sounds almost homeless when he says “I thought I wanted to break down walls / but I just want to turn from the snow.” These lines could be taken literally. However, the walls he thought he wanted to break down could portray problems, or the act of breaking could be an outlet for frustrated and pained anger. Snow is something a person would normally want to get away from. In this case, snow could represent some sort of problem that he is anxious or angry about.

In the second quatrain, the first and last lines contradict each other. He wants “no one’s death but [his] own” and “no other life than this.” The middle lines express wishes for the simpler things in life. Both “a piano key” and “a plucked string” are simple instrumental illustrations showing the beauty within simplicity that the average person wouldn’t see or comprehend. He wants his life to be like a simple note, not complex or harmful. The last three lines of this stanza should be enlightening and spiritually uplifting, but seem only to highlight the loneliness and depression felt by the narrator. He might think that death will bring clarity, such as the “clarity of a struck piano key / the fabric of a plucked string.” The last line could show that, while he was hurt, he still doesn’t regret that he chose to be with or love “her."

In the third stanza, “everyone’s walking in someone else’s shoes” could be a way of showing that, indeed, nobody does anything new. No matter what is done, the equivalent has already been done by many other people. Still people perceive their own experiences as unique and react differently than others. The rest of the stanza allows the reader to see through the narrator’s less-than-rose-colored glasses. He depicts the world in gloomy tones, and portrays the heart as something able to ruin the moment. “the heart disorders the world,” might mean that emotions can upset a person’s life, even the most logical, pragmatic person.

As the poem progresses into the fourth stanza, the reasoning behind the speaker's emotional state becomes more apparent. The words “music” and “heat” foreshadow the events revealed within the second two lines of the stanza. The open door could be the door he chanced upon opening. Heat could be the “steaminess” of the passionate affair. “I see her dancing on the floor / here at the heart of things” completely states the problem in subtle ways. He chances upon seeing the love of his life dancing with a stranger. His love could be cheating on him with another man, or she could have rejected his love for another’s. This would be “the heart” of his depression.

“it’s st. mary at main / where you forget everything / nothing being born / but the light.” St. Mary’s is a street, but it could also indirectly refer to the church, indicating that God forgets all sins. The “you” could refer directly to the Lord. The light is born within all new believers of the faith. After the narrator finds that his beloved has completely rejected his love, he seeks out God’s unconditional love and mercy. The poem goes from a depressed, dreary darkness, to spiritual light and love.

Clearly, Friesen understands the pain and sorrow of having bad things occur. He also shows how God can help a man or woman get through the worst times of their lives. This poem is inspiring, but brassily truthful. It is full of unadulterated raw emotion, yet still calm. It ends on a high note, showing that God makes all things better, eventually.

 Cally Feldman