Migratory Birds

Migratory Birds - meaning Summary

Longing Behind Departing Wings

The speaker watches wild geese flying south at night and feels their cries as a painful, glorious sign of departure. Observing their migration prompts a wish to write a dark story because the birds seem to carry away unknown parts of the speaker’s innermost self. The poem links a simple natural event to deep emotional loss and uncertainty: migration becomes a metaphor for what the speaker cannot hold or understand. Themes include separation, the unknowability of what is taken or left behind, and the way nature mirrors inner longing and grief.