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I
"Poor wanderer," said the leaden sky,
"I fain would lighten thee,
But there are laws in force on high
Which say it must not be."
II
--"I would not freeze thee, shorn one," cried
The North, "knew I but how
To warm my breath, to slack my stride;
But I am ruled as thou."
III
--"To-morrow I attack thee, wight,"
Said Sickness. "Yet I swear
I bear thy little ark no spite,
But am bid enter there."
IV
--"Come hither, Son," I heard Death say;
"I did not will a grave
Should end thy pilgrimage to-day,
But I, too, am a slave!"
V
We smiled upon each other then,
And life to me had less
Of that fell look it wore ere when
They owned their passiveness.
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Copyright © 2003-2008 Gunnar Bengtsson, Poetry Connection. All Rights Reserved.
What I got out of it was that the "wanderer" can be interpreted as some-1 having a period of hard times in their life. The Elements wish to help the traveler, but cannot and they all give reasons why they can't help him. The Sky wishes to lighten him, but can't due to the Law of Gravity. The North wind says that it won't freeze him, but it help him because it doesn't know how to warm it's breath. Sickness tells him that he will get sick tomorrow, but it promises not to take away the little refuge that he has. Death doesn't want to end his life, but he "is too a slave!", meaning that he must do his job and kill the wanderer. The last stanza however, is quite hard to understand, all I got out of it was; The "forces of nature" looked at him and smiled, knowing that they couldn't help him no matter the circumstances !
Anyway, that's what I think of the poem, but if you have any ideas or another view, please re-comment (I have to do an explication on this poem for my english class soon) : )
Anonymous from United States