With the first phrase of Mark Strand's poem "Here," something seems out of place. The sun has "slid behind a cloud" and the air is now "something less than blue." The poem then goes on to describe a desolate ghost town void of all life. The speaker acts as an observer depicting the scene. A feeling of eerie silence and uneasiness grows as this visitor continues to describe this lifeless place.
             On a deeper level, the poem alludes to the aftermath of an atomic bomb. Within the second line, the image of a single cloud that covers the sun and changes the air connects to the mushroom cloud after the dropping of a nuclear bomb. Yet through this haze, "everything is clear." Man's inhumanity to man is shown clearly through this action. The mass destruction and pain we are willing to bring one another is apparent and unmistakable. Another indication that this is the fault of an A-bomb is the complete lack of life. With any other massacre, there would be some form of life left, but here the birds and even the "buzzing flies" have been silenced. The observer describes all dust that gathers everywhere. This could also be a clue as thick layers of ash and dust occur due to a bombing.
             The speaker who depicts this landscape does so in a very detached and distant way. The descriptions give very precise and cutting details but without an emotional attachment. The scene is slowly and masterfully unraveled as this observer takes us through the town. Each line showing more signs of the destruction, decay, and death. The poem starts by telling us of dead plants and abandoned streets. The tombstones "merge with houses at the edge of town." Then, along the streets with barren trees and no signs of life, until we finally come to our respite, a church with "rotting doors." The desolation is slowly revealed to us in a colloquial tone with little emotion u...