I Can Wade Grief
poem 252
I Can Wade Grief - meaning Summary
Comfort in Sorrow, Shock of Joy
The poem contrasts the speaker’s acclimation to prolonged sorrow with an inability to bear sudden joy. Grief is manageable, like wading through deep pools, but even a small surge of happiness disorients and intoxicates. The second stanza extends the theme: power, pain, and discipline are burdens that can humble even the mighty, suggesting strength is conditional and fragile. The poem examines emotional habit, vulnerability to change, and how extremes invert capacity.
Read Complete AnalysesI can wade Grief Whole Pools of it I’m used to that But the least push of Joy Breaks up my feet And I tip drunken Let no Pebble smile ‘Twas the New Liquor That was all! Power is only Pain Stranded, thro’ Discipline, Till Weights will hang Give Balm to Giants And they’ll wilt, like Men Give Himmaleh They’ll Carry Him!
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