THEME & INTERPRETATION

The supposed couple that have been together since at least their twenties "As if we were still twenty-two" are celebrating one of their birthdays with their old friends. Their night comes to an end when their friends show them to the bed, suggesting that they couldn't do it on their own. " To a bed I reached in one drunk stride". Their night goes from a euphoric, loud, hectic environment to a quiet, safe, comfortable and warm one. When they suddenly fall into an embrace, it feels like the world around them comes to a halt and they are the only ones that matter. Like they are in a "bubble", where the world outside is blocked by the warm feeling of the hug. 

"The Hug" by Thom Gunn, from The Man with Night Sweats (1992) describes the thoughts and feelings of the speaker when they are met by a warm hug from their partner, as they lay down in bed after a euphoric and happy birthday dinner.  

A hug the speaker feels with all their body, focusing in every place where they are touching. "It was not sex, but I could feel... The whole strength of your body set" made them feel protected during such an intimate moment. It wasn't sex, but it was enough to feel the same or even more pleasure and gratification than any sexual act could have. This unexpected hug that broke the speaker's drowsy sleep, transported them into their teenage years. "And locking me to you... As if we were still twenty-two". This reconnection with the feeling of nervousness, that feeling of desire, excitement and curiosity towards new love. Like he states "Before our passion had not yet ... Become familial". Getting used to the love, not getting excited about it anymore, even spending less quality time together. Forgetting the butterfly sensations.

Le Lit (1892) by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

The poem is written in past tense. With that, we can interpret that the speaker is explaining what had happened that night, to their partner, as the speaker addresses them directly "The whole strength for your body set". This makes the poem nostalgic in two ways. Firstly,  being the remembrance of that birthday night, but being the only one who seems to remember. Having felt a one-way joyous bliss. Secondly, feeling a positive melancholy when remembering their teenage love and seeing it evolve into what they know of it now. Again, reaffirming the idea of the "bubble", the poem comes to a close with "My quick sleep had deleted all... Of intervening time and place... I only knew... The stay of your firm dry embrace". Also, the verse is claiming that they also forgot about most of the night, except for the hug. 

A fun idea to point out is that, it is the birthday of the person who hugs the speaker. But in the poem, the hug is painted as almost a "present", which is ironic because the one who ends up receiving this "present" is not the one celebrating their birthday, but the other way around. 

In conclusion, the whole basis of the poem is memories. The idea of unlocking a forgotten memory or a feeling through a specific action. Something that was maybe buried deep in their minds, was brought up by a positive trigger. It is a poem that evokes the image of love and romance, without any "sexual" aspect and captures the raw reaction and emotions of the speaker as they fall comfortably into the hug. 

Unmade Beds by Marc Whitney