Poem for Haruko

Hair does not make an extended appearance in “Poem for Haruko,” but its presence makes a fiery statement. The speaker sets a dramatic scene before the reader is even aware the speaker is referring to her lover’s hair, backlighting the cascading tresses so the lacey airspace around the lover’s crown is saturated in soft candlelight. The speaker notes “the full length” of their lover’s hair, allowing the reader to imagine a luxurious mane. The sight of the beloved’s hair is so dear to the speaker, so moving, that they liken it to “a shower / organized by God” (Lines 5-6). In keeping with the dichotomies of the poem, the hair is both water and fire—it is “a shower” (Line 5) and at the same time its “brown and auburn / undulations” (Lines 7-8) mimic flames. This first stanza gets at the high passion of a romance at its apex, when passion feels like an experience of the spirit as well as of the body. As the poem progresses, the point of view gets farther and farther from the “solid heat / of lust” (Lines 22-23), but in the first stanza, the speaker is close enough to see the play of light in each strand of their beloved’s hair and to worship it.