Ombre Chinoise — Summary

A few sharp images make up the whole scene: red foxgloves against a yellow wall, a woman holding a blue and red sunshade, waves slowly hitting a parapet. The speaker says “That is all,” as if this tiny, vivid picture is complete on its own. The mood is quiet and suspended, like looking at a painting or a colored shadow. The details are bright but still, and the only movement is the slow rhythm of water. In the final lines, the speaker calls the scene “Non-existent — immortal — / As solid as the centre of a ring of fine gold.” It may be a passing impression, even imagined, but it feels permanent and precious. The poem suggests that a fleeting visual moment can become fixed in memory or art: unreal, yet more solid and lasting than ordinary life.