I really loved this poem because it was so easy for me to relate to as I read it. The passage is basically narrating how someone is seeing their loved one off; someone who will probably be away for a long time. He is standing on a crowded platform, saying his last goodbye—I could definitely relate to the way that he was feeling at that time.
We kissed at the barrier; and passing through
She left me, and moment by moment got
Smaller and smaller, until to my view
She was but a spot; (lines 1-4)
We have penned new plans since that fair fond day,
And in season she will appear again—
Perhaps in the same soft white array—
But never as then! (lines 17-20)
I’ve experienced this before—watching someone close to me leave and standing there until their image is no longer visible. And before they had even left; we started planning what we will do when they return. This seemed to me like the perfect love story in just a few lines. It was really bizarre reading this because it seemed like Hardy was in my head at the moment that I was experiencing that and he wrote down all of my thoughts at that moment and everything that was being seen through my eyes.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Trenae,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your engaged exploration and visualizing of Hardy's poem. You clearly show your intense experiencing of the situation. I hope your reunion is less pessimistically anticipated than Hardy's though; his closing comment "But never as then!" suggests they will never be together as a couple in the same way as they were before the separation.