Two Swimmers Wrestled on the Spar
poem 201
Two Swimmers Wrestled on the Spar - meaning Summary
Rescue Denied, Witness Condemned
The poem presents a sudden shift from a playful struggle to a bleak drowning. Two swimmers grapple until dawn; one turns safely to shore while the other is left to die. Passing ships observe but do not or cannot intervene, and Dickinson emphasizes the drowned figure’s pleading eyes and hands. The poem explores survival, moral responsibility, and the painful human reality of bystanding and loss in spare, intense images.
Read Complete AnalysesTwo swimmers wrestled on the spar Until the morning sun When One turned smiling to the land Oh God! the Other One! The stray ships passing Spied a face Upon the waters borne With eyes in death still begging raised And hands beseeching thrown!
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