Dover Beach

             The two women left Montag's house in a hurry. Mrs. Phelps, tears drying on her face, struggled to keep up with Mrs. Bowles, her shoes furiously stomping on the ground. "I am going to turn that fool in! What a load of nonsense! Oh, where ignorant armies clash by night-- what does that even mean? And will you hurry up?" She looked back at Mrs. Phelps, who to her surprise was sitting on the sidewalk, her hands covering her face. She was crying, but she didn't know why. "Clara,"said Mrs. Bowles, "Clara, why are you crying? It's a stupid poem that has no meaning." "How do you know that?" Mrs. Phelps snapped, " It's just words to us, but we both will never know what it truly means. And that's why I am crying." "Oh, Clara, cheer up! Come to my home and we'll have a Parlor marathon!" "No!" Mrs. Phelps shouted. She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry," she whispered, " But maybe I'll just walk here alone for a little bit. For a little fresh air." "Ok," said Mrs. Bowles reluctantly," You be careful now. I''ll see you in the morning" And Mrs. Bowles left.

           Mrs. Phelps walked slowly, hands in her pockets. She wasn't crying now but it was pain that she felt. She thought of the poem that Montag had read, called Dover Beach. "Begin and cease, and then begin again, With tremendous cadence slow, and bring the eternal sadness in," she spoke again and again to herself. What does that mean? She was furious. The words don't make sense. Why do these simple words seem so complicated? Eternal Sadness. Eternal. Sadness. She looked at her own life and saw eternal sadness. No job,  no kids, a husband who wasn't even with her. The Parlor on every day, every minute of her life. She slumped back onto the sidewalk and started bawling. She wept and wept until she didn't have any more tears to cry out. She got up and found herself walking to Montag and Mildred's house. She rang the doorbell fast, three, four, five times. Montag answered the door, looking shocked, "Hello Clara, what are you doing here?" "Could I take a book?" she asked. He looked stunned. He hesitated but went back into the house and returned with the small book of poetry that he had read Dover Beach out of. "Thank you," she said as she smiled and walked in the direction of her house, slipping the book into her purse. When she walked into her house, The Family was going on. She took a long look at the characters and turned the walls off. She had never seen it off, the spaces completely black. She sat down on the couch and got the poetry book out. She flipped to Dover Beach and began reading.