17 pages • 34-minute read
Some Afternoons She Does Not Pick Up the Phone
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Symbols & Motifs
Ice
Ice works as both symbol and motif in the poem. Symbolically, the ice represents the coldness of the outer and inner worlds, the frozen creative impulse, and the beauty and danger of nature. As a motif, the ice crops up in most of the lines of the poem, indicating the extent to which the landscape is dominated by this feature.
Even though the ice is “general” (Line 1) or ubiquitous, the speaker goes on to show how it is also very specific. Some bits of ice can have gravel in it, others range in color from blue to “greyblack” (Line 3). The ice’s ubiquity doesn’t imply that it can be ignored; instead, it is so overwhelming that the speaker feels compelled to observe its minutiae.
The ice also represents the speaker’s psyche. The speaker is awed and frustrated by the monotony and difficulty the ice brings. Thus, to the speaker, the ice represents something insurmountable, almost impossible to overcome. All the speaker can do at the moment is wait for the icy patch to pass and February to be over.
Letter
Carson plays with the dual meaning of the word “letter” to indicate the isolation the ice has brought upon the speaker. In the first instance, “not one letter” (Line 8) might imply that not even a single missive makes it to the speaker. The second instance, “not one stroke of a letter” (Line 8), evokes a new image—a letter of the alphabet being written—and therefore, clarifies the meaning of the preceding phrase.
The stroke of a letter is different from a letter; no kind of communication is possible in the present circumstances. The ice of the landscape and the mind will not allow any letter to come in, or a letter to be written. The speaker cannot even draw a part of a letter on the blank page, so stultified is their state of mind.
“The little ones”
In Line 7, the speaker notes that the ice is so slippery that “the little ones cannot stand on it” (Line 7). It can be inferred that the phrase refers to children who might want to play on the ice, but who are forbidden by parents because of the inherent danger. The line follows the phrase “[a]ll we wished for, shreds” (Line 6), juxtaposing the little ones against unimaginable peril.
While the ice of the landscape can endanger the children, the speaker is not just referring to literal children. The little ones could also symbolize all the wishes, hopes, and dreams the speaker once felt. In their altered, sad state of mind, these wishes now seem impossible and unachievable. The snowy landscape has depressed the speaker to such an extent that they believe no good can come of anything.
Because the poem invites multiple interpretations, it can also be argued that the little ones symbolize unborn children. Children cannot be brought into a perilous world; alternatively, the ice symbolizes an absence of little ones. Like the letter, the little ones too cannot “stand” (Line 7) or exist on the ice, which is the speaker’s reality.
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