Promise
Clock and season march, each day more mellow,
since time must nourish youth beyond blossoms:
the new furred power glints in early patterns,
brought with true focus to your beauty now.
Words drift in multitudes from your replies,
who’ve chosen foreign life: I ponder snatches.
We cross like shadows, young and watchful insects.
My time has turned to life beyond this room.
All loves have songs, once girl well thought of
set spinning a lugubrious Italian.
You, mermaid with your criss – cross rain of pale
hair, never had favourites, just friends.
That sweet detachment lingers rich in influence.
O day beyond the curtain swarms with rhythms.
My song to you is imminent: sky and glittering
sea and the grass of quick surprise, our world.
The luminous air presents its gifts of fragrance.
myself with its first taste in flowering spring.
The wind strays off the water with desire
among these leafing boughs to fork me open.
As I grow outward, what has held me shut,
unconscious of your vigil, you my swan?
I am as strong and fluid as a river
to give your empty spring its first fulfilment.
— Arthur Nortje
Summary
“Promise” by Arthur Nortje captures the transition from youth to adulthood, with all its anticipation, change, and self-discovery. It describes a romantic connection between two young people who are growing apart as they mature and choose different paths in life. It uses natural imagery like seasons, blossoms, and insects to reflect on how time changes people and relationships.
The poem begins by noting the passage of time, with references to clocks and seasons changing, to depict how time nurtures youth. It then speaks of new power and beauty emerging in the person being addressed, who of course, is a girl after the speaker’s heart.
The speaker infers from the words drifting in “multitudes” between them that the addressee has chosen a “foreign life.” This implies that each of them is taking a separate path.
The poem compares their interactions to shadows crossing and “young and watchful insects.” The speaker then reflects on moving beyond their current space or situation.
The poem stresses the fact that the addressee is the speaker’s love interest, especially with numerous references that states the obvious: the Italian love song, his description of her as a “mermaid” with pale hair, and his reference to her as a “swan.”
The speaker promises the addressee a song that describes elements of nature like sky, sea, and grass. He speaks of his desire personified as wind coming off water, while he questions what has held them back. He goes on to compare himself to a strong, fluid river, ready to fulfill the “empty spring” of the addressee.
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