The Symbolism of Children in “Leaving the Motel” and “After Making Love We heard Footsteps” Yun-Shan Hou College

“Leaving the Motel” and “After Making Love We Hear Footsteps” present exactly different intimate relationships; the former illustrates what happens to the lovers after they had a secret affair, while the latter portrays a married couple interrupted by their six-year-old son after they made love. Though it seems like the two poems have little in common besides the theme of sex and love, it is noted that the image of children appears in both of them. Despite the difference between the theme and tone, the children represent the same symbolism in the two poems.

First of all, the children represent the real world. In “Leaving the Motel”, the motel room serves as an ideal space for the secret lovers to embrace their forbidden desire. There is no place for this relationship in their regular lives, thus the affair seems like a dreamy illusion, for they can instantly escape from reality. However, after the lovers had sex, they heard something which all of a sudden shattered the sweet atmosphere—the hollering of the kids. “Outside, the last kids holler / Near the pool: they'll stay the night.” (1-2) The hollering is an alert, that someone is outside there, that they are still in the danger of being caught; the kids outside represent the...