Guillaume Apollinaire
It’s raining women’s voices as if they were dead even in
memory it’s you too that it cries wonderful encounters of
my life oh droplets and these rearing clouds start to neigh just
like a universe of auricular cities listen if it’s raining while
regret and disdain cry an ancient music listen fall the
bonds that hold you up high and down
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Analysis (AI Assisted)
The poem presents a vivid, almost surreal experience, filled with striking imagery and a palpable sense of loss. The opening line, “It’s raining women’s voices as if they were dead even in memory,” immediately sets the tone, blending the concept of rain with the voices of women, which suggests that memories of these voices are being washed away, drowned by time or sorrow. This evokes an emotional heaviness, as the poet reflects on the ephemeral nature of human connections and the lingering absence of those voices, even in memory.
The speaker seems to grapple with a sense of alienation, as they invoke “wonderful encounters of my life” while acknowledging that those moments are slipping away, overshadowed by the weight of regret. The “droplets” of rain become metaphors for both memories and sorrow, with the rain serving as both a cleansing and a destructive force. The image of “rearing clouds” that “start to neigh” is striking, evoking an unsettling and almost primal energy, further underscoring the chaos and emotional turbulence the speaker is experiencing.
The metaphorical “universe of auricular cities” suggests a vast, incomprehensible world of sound—possibly reflecting the speaker’s internal turmoil or an overwhelming sense of disconnection from the past. This universe of “auricular cities” could represent the emotional spaces that remain in the speaker’s mind, cities that are now unreachable and inhabited by echoes of the past.
The lines “listen if it’s raining while regret and disdain cry an ancient music” introduce a complex emotional landscape, where regret and disdain are personified, crying out an “ancient music” that resonates with the weight of experience. This music might represent the sorrowful knowledge that the past, with its vibrant connections and joys, is irrevocably lost.
In the final lines, “fall the bonds that hold you up high and down,” there is a suggestion of liberation or release. The “bonds” could symbolize the emotional constraints that the speaker feels—perhaps the grip of memory, regret, or even societal expectations—that have held them in place. The phrase “fall the bonds” implies a kind of letting go, yet the ambiguous phrasing leaves open whether this release is liberating or destructive.
Overall, the poem presents a meditation on loss, memory, and the passage of time, using the imagery of rain, sound, and physical decay to convey a profound emotional experience. The speaker’s voice is not just reflecting on the past, but is caught in a tension between remembering and forgetting, between attachment and release. The poem’s fragmented structure and evocative language invite the reader to experience this internal conflict, where the longing for connection and the weight of regret collide.