A London Thoroughfare.  2 A.M.

They have watered the street,
It shines in the glare of lamps,
Cold, white lamps,
And lies
Like a slow-moving river,
Barred with silver and black.
Cabs go down it,
One,
And then another.
Between them I hear the shuffling of feet.
Tramps doze on the window-ledges,
Night-walkers pass along the sidewalks.
The city is squalid and sinister,
With the silver-barred street in the midst,
Slow-moving,
A river leading nowhere.
Opposite my window,
The moon cuts,
Clear and round,
Through the plum-coloured night.
She cannot light the city;
It is too bright.
It has white lamps,
And glitters coldly.
I stand in the window and watch the moon.
She is thin and lustreless,
But I love her.
I know the moon,
And this is an alien city.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Amy Lowell's poem A London Thoroughfare.  2 A.M.

3 Comments

  1. evie says:

    I believe that the poem shows strong signs on unriquited love. it also shows that the writer of the poem Amy Lowell is saying that she is a lesbian as she is talking about the moon like its her lover. She also talks about how the alien city she lives in does not understand her, because she loves a women.

  2. hannah says:

    Well i personally think this poem is very hard and confising but when i read into depth i learnt to know she is a lesbian therefore she is talking about a girl. i dislike this poem because not a lot of poetic devices are used such as metaphor, similies e.t.c. but the thing i like about this peom is that it has easy language so could be easy to interpret.

  3. hannah says:

    Well i personally think this poem is very hard and confising but when i read into depth i learnt to know she is a lesbian therefore she is talking about a girl. i dislike this poem because not a lot of poetic devices are used such as metaphor, similies e.t.c. but the thing i like about this peom is that it has easy language so could be easy to interpret.

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