THE FACE IN THE TOYOTASuppose you see a face in a ToyotaOne day, and you fall in love with that face,And it is Her, and the world rushes byLike dust blown down a Montana street.And you fall upward into some deep hole,And you can't tell God from a grain of sand.And your life is changed, except that now youOverlook even more than you did before;And these ignored things come to bury you,And you are crushed, and your parentsCan't help anymore, and the woman in the ToyotaBecomes a part of the world that you don't see.And now the grain of sand becomes sand again,And you stand on some mountain road weeping.
The poem "The Face in the Toyota" by Robert Bly captures a moment of profound connection and love experienced in a fleeting encounter with a stranger. The narrator becomes enamored by the face seen in a passing Toyota, which leads to a transformative experience that shifts their perception of the world. This moment pulls them into a deep emotional journey, where the beauty of the encounter contrasts with the mundane and overlooked aspects of life that they fail to see.
As life progresses, the narrator feels increasingly overwhelmed by the very things they once ignored, suggesting a sense of loss and isolation. The connection with the woman in the Toyota fades, transforming into a bittersweet memory that contributes to their emotional struggle. The shift from experiencing beauty to feeling buried under neglected details highlights the complexity of love and the human condition, culminating in a poignant moment of sorrow and reflection on a mountain road.
