Rendezvous — Summary

Dave BontaAnxious

guns call me by name I must go to be questioned

the ghosts miss me and my neat silver watch

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The speaker in "Rendezvous" is being called toward something violent, and seems to accept it. Guns "call me by name," as if they know him personally, and he says he "must go to be questioned." The word "rendezvous" in the title usually suggests a meeting with a lover or friend, so there is a chilling irony in using it for an appointment with weapons and interrogation.

The second stanza shifts to something quieter and stranger. The ghosts "miss" him, which suggests the dead are waiting for him, or that he is already half-way to joining them. Then comes the small, odd detail of the "neat silver watch." Of all the things to mention, he picks a delicate, ordinary object, perhaps a reminder of time, routine and the life he is leaving behind.

The mood is calm but uneasy. The speaker sounds resigned rather than panicked, and that flat tone makes the danger feel even heavier. The poem doesn't tell us who is questioning him or why, and the mystery adds to the dread.

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