Revolving Days by David Malouf: Critical Appreciation

The poem 'Revolving Days' by David Malouf was first published in the collection Typewriter Music in
2007, and later it was published as a single with the title Revolving Days in the year 2007. It is a
confessional poem where the poet is reflecting upon his unreciprocated love. Even though it has
been a long time since he fell in love and the love was unanswered, he is still not able to able to
forget the time when he fell in love. The poem is divided into three unequal stanzas. The first stanza
consists of ten lines, and in it the poet reminisces the day he fell in love. In the second stanza, which
consists of seven lines, the poet talks about the things that could have happened if their love was a
success. Lastly in the third stanza the poet directly addresses his beloved and it consists of six lines.
In some parts, this poem is vague as the reader cannot understand whether the poem is about a
one-sided love or an unrequited love. Even the gender of the beloved is not mentioned.

In the first stanza of the 'Revolving Days' the speaker reflects on his past and recalls the year in
which he fell in love. The speaker had no place to go and nothing to do and as a result of it, he fell in
love. He then says that it was a mistake and asserts it by adding 'of course'. It was definitely a
mistake to fall in love. Although, falling in love was mistake, it has now endured within him, it has
lasted. It came in his life by accident but it has lasted over time. In the next line, the poet paints the
picture of the past when he was falling in love. He recalls how it was to fall in love. Lines like 'old tug
at heart', which means 'pull' of love that heart feels and 'boom under the pocket' denote this
remembrance of the past. He used to buy new clothes for himself and used to frequently
experiment with his looks, so that he could he could catch a different image of himself on the
window glass and mirrors when he was preparing for his new life as a lover. He also mentions the
different colours and types of shirts that he bought during that period of time: mint green, pink, Ivy
League tan, and some striped shirts, that was the first kind of button-down collar he had ever
bought.

As the second stanza unfolds, it becomes evident that the speaker's love was a little more difficult
than it appeared. It 'lasted' but not in the way that one expects. He begins the stanza by writing,
"We never write", which means that there is no communication between them now. In the poem,
he is drawn back in time by the memories of past love. He seems to transcend time when he catches
a glimpse of himself in the mirror, recalling the time they spent together and the promises they
made. He thinks of her while doing the mundane work like knotting the tie. He imagines how it
would have been like if his lover were in the next room waiting to get married to him and how would
she feel or react if he had surprised his bride-to-be with a different colour of shirt.

In the final stanza of the poem, the poet uses the term 'revolving days' to describe the condition of
his heart and memory. He is writing 'this' for his ex- lover. The emotions have resurfaced. He says
that though the years have passed by, but the speaker is still remembering his love even now and
trying to write a letter to her. He knows that she is no more by his side, and she has moved on. He
also imagines someone else being by her side and staring into her blue eyes. He has not moved on
his life, he is still stuck there. He also clearly says to her not to worry because he is not going to
appear out of nowhere, and discomfort her in any way. Even if she receives any kind of letter from
him, he is not expecting any reply from her side. In the end, Malouf's words reassure his past love
that although the memories have conjured up, there will be no intrusion into present life. He does
not expect anything in return.

"Revolving Days" uses apostrophe and symbolism to convey the idea that moving on from lost love
can be incredibly difficult and even impossible. Apostrophe is when the speaker addresses someone
absent or dead as though they were there and could respond. Here, the poet's use of apostrophe
helps to convey the speaker's sense of longing, of yearning, for the lover who has left him. Further,
the colour of the shirts he purchased during this relationship, mint green, pink, Ivy League, tan with
darker stripes, seems to symbolize the new life he had hoped that he would have as a lover. They
are bright and clean and new, probably starched and crisp, one his "first button-down collar." The
colourful brightness of those shirts, as well as the "blue eyes" of his lost love, are the only colours in
the poem. Life seems to be colourless for him now. Symbolically, then, life is duller, less exciting, in
the wake of this love.

In 'Revolving Days' Malouf engages with themes that include love, memory, and transformation or
the lack of transformation. This poem is a beautiful intertwining of language and memory. The title
itself invokes the feeling of something related to memory. Malouf describes his works as "an
attempt to stop time and dwell on a moment". The speaker spends the bulk of this poem describing
a love he used to have and the way that love changed him. But since, he has not changed at all. He is
still the person he used to be when he was with his ex- lover, for better or for worse. But, he knows
that she has changed. She is somewhere else, and he figures that she has moved on to be with
someone else. His memories of the past are quite strong, so much so that he is able to depict
moments from his love affair with clarity.

Although there is not a structured rhyme scheme, there are moments of rhyme within the poem.
These are seen through repetition such as with "lasted" and "lasted" in the second line of the first
stanza. Poetic devices used in the poem include, alliteration, anaphora, enjambment and caesura.
Anaphora is used when we see repetition of words or phrases such as the use of word 'lasted' in the
second line of the poem. Enjambment is used when a sentence is abruptly stopped, for example, in
the beginning of the third stanza when he writes 'Revolving Days'. Caesura occurs when a line is split
in half, sometimes with punctuation, sometimes not. The use of punctuation in these moments
creates a very intentional pause in the text. Malouf has used imagery to paint the picture of the past
throughout the poem