Coming
by Philip Larkin
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The poem announces the coming of spring and, with it, an unexpected feeling of happiness. On longer evenings a chill, yellow light bathes the 'serene foreheads of houses'. A thrush, surrounded by laurel in the deep bare garden, sings in a 'fresh-peeled voice' that astonishes the brickwork, repeatedly promising that 'it will be spring soon'. The poet, whose childhood he calls 'a forgotten boredom', responds to this coming of spring like a child who wanders into a scene of 'adult reconciling', who understands nothing but the unusual laughter, and starts to be happy. The poem gently links the renewal of the season with a tentative, childlike return of joy.
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The light of longer evenings
On longer evenings a light that is 'chill and yellow' bathes the calm 'foreheads of houses'. The lengthening days and soft evening light are the first signs of the approaching spring, described with quiet, luminous imagery.
The thrush's fresh-peeled voice
A thrush sings, surrounded by laurel in the deep bare garden. Its 'fresh-peeled voice' astonishes the brickwork and seems to announce, again and again, 'It will be spring soon.' The bird's clear, new-sounding song heralds the season of renewal.
A childlike happiness
The poet, whose own childhood is 'a forgotten boredom', feels like a child who comes upon a scene of 'adult reconciling', a moment of grown-ups making up. The child understands nothing but the unusual laughter, and starts to be happy. So too the poet, without fully understanding why, begins to feel joy at the coming of spring.