CHLOE by James Russell Lowell

A speaker begs someone to let them go, glancing at the clock as it strikes six, a sign that the day has passed in a blur. It's a lighthearted moment — someone struggling to break free from a person or place they clearly want to stay with. The humor lies in the fact that time seems to fly only because they've been so joyfully engaged.

Light, teasing, and affectionate. Lowell keeps everything breezy — there's no real distress here, just the playful urgency of someone who's lingered too long in a delightful place and is now pretending they need to leave. The poem's brevity reflects its subject: time that slips away before you even realize it.

James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) was a leading American poet in the nineteenth century, part of the New England literary circle that included figures like Longfellow, Holmes, and Whittier. He was also a critic, editor for *The Atlantic Monthly*, and later served as a diplomat. His poetry often reflects a serious engagement with political issues—he wrote passionately against slavery—but he also excelled in light, witty occasional verse. "Chloe" falls into that lighter category. The name Chloe is steeped in pastoral history: it appears in ancient Greek poetry, in works by Sidney and Marvell, and in numerous Restoration and eighteenth-century lyrics. By using this name, Lowell indicates that he's participating in a familiar tradition of charming yet trivial love poetry rather than aiming to make a significant statement.