Bereaved of All, I Went Abroad
poem 784
Bereaved of All, I Went Abroad - meaning Summary
Persistent Presence of Grief
The speaker describes leaving home while already bereaved, only to find that grief follows everywhere like a physical companion. Travel, new lodgings, sleep, crowds, the sea, and even intoxication fail to displace the persistent presence. The poem treats the Grave almost as an entity that precedes, lodges, and wakes with the speaker. Attempts to forget or lose sorrow are temporary; what remains is the memory of the instrument of burial. The final image implies that practical traces of loss endure even when outward signs seem to fade.
Read Complete AnalysesBereaved of all, I went abroad No less bereaved was I Upon a New Peninsula The Grave preceded me Obtained my Lodgings, ere myself And when I sought my Bed The Grave it was reposed upon The Pillow for my Head I waked to find it first awake I rose It followed me I tried to drop it in the Crowd To lose it in the Sea In Cups of artificial Drowse To steep its shape away The Grave was finished but the Spade Remained in Memory
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