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Comment 11 of 21, added on November 25th, 2005 at 11:25 PM.
This poem is stupid.
Emily
Comment 10 of 21, added on November 2nd, 2005 at 8:28 AM.
to understand this poem you need to clear your mind for all options. such as time, time is mentioned alot in this poem. i think thomas is tring to say that when you are young you dont think about time but as soon as you grow up time is something you can never forget.
dannii from United Kingdom
Comment 9 of 21, added on September 17th, 2005 at 3:30 AM.
Thomas expresses belief in nature itself - its innocence and beauty. Religion is used for its metaphors - and it inevitably colours the language of one brought up in the world of Welsh chapels, but it extends further to ideas of reincaration or resserection.
"The sabbath" is significant because on that day in particular he was free to enjoy all day long.
There are subtle references here to the creation - "after the birth of the simple light/ In the first, spinning place"; to the nativity and the virgin Mary - "blessed among stables".
"The mercy of his means", refers to Time, who is lord of all his experiences.
Simon from United Kingdom
Comment 8 of 21, added on September 5th, 2005 at 12:19 PM.
That is not true there are two biblical images in this poem and the second one is, "Shining, it was Adam and maiden," Which is refer to the world being unspoiled like when adam and eve first saw it.
carlton from Canada
Comment 7 of 21, added on June 8th, 2005 at 10:04 PM.
i disagree with the last comment. "golden in the heydays of his eyes" is refering to sumemr and time. teh passing of time is a constant theme throughout the entire poem. the only reference to anything biblical is "and the sabbath rang slowly/in the pebbles of the wholy streams." and that is simply refering to how he was unable to run and have fun on the sabbath as it was forbidden.
we have studied this peom in my english class and their are a ton of meanings to each and every line. it is a poem that should be read otuside on a day when you can experience nature as he describes it.
bailey from Canada
Comment 6 of 21, added on April 7th, 2005 at 12:09 PM.
This poem was beautifully written and reminded me of carefree childhood when there not a care in the world. I think the he in " Golden in the heydays of his eyes " refers to God - and I think that Thomas is speaking of how glorious is it to be a child who can do no wrong in the eyes of the Lord. When you are child you are simply in awe of the worlds beauty, and this is why there is so much detailed description of the apple boughs, the green grass, the sound the river makes over the pebbles, the sounds of the foxes -- it is all just a wonder to you when you are child. I also think the use of the color green is relevant. It reminded me of another poem by Frost who compares childhood to being green and explains it as being gold. This poem is very similar to that one in my mind -- Frost's last line is "Nothing gold can stay" referring to how the greenness and innocence of childhood is indeed golden, but it does not and cannot last ... We grow up and age. I got the impression that Dylan was pretty much saying the same thing in the line "Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means, Time held me green and dying" _ In other words, he was no longer green and innocent, he was dying because he was aging and those carefree days were being counted down -- This is why the tone changes so much toward the end and Thomas tries to hold on to the memories of being a child -- "Golden in the mercy of his means"
Lisa from United States
Comment 5 of 21, added on March 23rd, 2005 at 7:13 PM.
Either I am slow, or read to fast because this poem went completely over my head the first time.
Glenda Jones from United States
Comment 4 of 21, added on March 6th, 2005 at 12:59 AM.
I had never heard of this poem before, NFL Films did a movie about the Pottstown Firebirds, a team my father played on in 1970.
At the end of the film the 1970 Firebirds get together for a reunion.They are no longer the guys in their early 20's who played a game together but now middle aged men with a different perspective on life and the game they played.
Some of the players get up to speak about what the game meant to them. A writer who covered the team in 1970 got up and read Fern Hill, it was amazing how well the words fit into what some of the players were speaking about as they reflected on playing a game in their youth. It is now my favorite poem.
JC from United States
Comment 3 of 21, added on January 5th, 2005 at 5:51 AM.
This poem is almost a description of a dream. it has has many traces of surrealistic images. It recreates the world of a child and then contrast it with the phase of disillusionment in the adult age. Many of us would identify with the pictures that Thomas draws from the perspective of a child.
Manoj from India
Comment 2 of 21, added on November 30th, 2004 at 11:14 PM.
This poem is slightly autobiographical in that the setting is a dairy farm that Thomas’ aunt and uncle invited him to live on for a time as a child. The poem shows his interest in the process of life. The narrator reminisces about how he had seen the world as a child until line 28 when “a wanderer white” approaches. For the remainder of the poem, the narrator continues to reminisce about happy childhood, but there are darker thoughts and images mixed with memory, and Time (who is probably the wanderer) has led the narrator to feel more melancholy about his present.
Ed from United States
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Copyright © 2003-2008 Gunnar Bengtsson, Poetry Connection. All Rights Reserved.
This poem is stupid.
Emily