the poem is about modern life
stanza 1- it show the scene of a winter evening on a very crowded and dirty street we can say that the area has middle class people as it says that you can smell steak being cooked, steak is a middle class man's food
stanza 2-it shows the morning scene where the world wakes up from sleep(temporary death) the morning is not pleasant it smells of stale beer the streets are muddy and have saw dust on it. the people are dragging their feet to coffee stands( it again shows that they are poor and cant afford to make coffee and breakfast at home) the scene is like a play where everything is happening like a routine and everyone is waking up at the same time
stanza 3-the person speaking is still in a half sleepy state and is recalling all the events of the past night. those sordid(immoral) images of last night flicker on the ceiling like shadows. the person wakes up and removes the curling papers from the hair by this we know that its a woman and she holds her yellow soles of feet with her soiled hands which says that her hands and feet are dirty. the woman is most probably an immoral woman(prostitute) who knows what happens on the streets at night when the hardworking people sleep and what they can not understand
stanza 4-\the poem has more emphasis on the imprisonment of men in the urban environments, as it begins,"His soul stretched tight across the skies
That fade behind a city block" this part feels as if some men want to live more freely to be able to see the sky, yet cannot due to the limitations of modern life. In other words perhaps this final stanza is referring to the cravings of men being more free?
that is what is think the poem said i hope this helps the students who want the explanation
i felt like i had to post this after i went across so many sites to find the explanation for my exam
i might post for more poems
i have my english lit 12th board soon so i might not want to open the books again :)
