Wingfoot Lake

People are shaped by the time period in which they grew up, and this is no less true in Beulah’s case. One of the only things directly communicated about her self-conception is that she feels that “she came from [. . .] the past” (Lines 32-33). While Beulah’s disconnection from the present is beneficial insofar as it allows her to see the repetition and continuation of past injustices in the present, it also alienates her from her daughters and the life they aim to live.

Beulah’s disconnection is partially due to Thomas’s passing, as suggested by the sudden move back in time after Beulah considers, “he was dead for the first time / on Fourth of July—ten years ago” (Lines 14-15). However, the past is more than a place to which Beulah escapes. Instead of telling a straightforward narrative about Beulah’s experience at her son-in-law’s “company picnic” (Line 9) in 1964, the poem—and Beulah herself—uses the past to provide context. The poem’s juxtaposition of the present with Beulah’s past experience demonstrates how Beulah uses the past as a lens through which to view the present.