I’ll Tell You What You Wanderers
I’ll Tell You What You Wanderers - meaning Summary
Warning to Wandering Men
The poem addresses itinerant men, warning them against romantic attachments while they drift from town to town. It describes the practical and emotional costs of wandering: leaving friends, riding steerage, arriving destitute and poorly clothed. The speaker frames poverty as a cruel force that can sever intimate ties, urging restraint and suggesting that affection should wait until a traveler has stability and means to avoid heartbreaking separation.
Read Complete AnalysesI’ll tell you what you wanderers, who drift from town to town; Don’t look into a good girl’s eyes, until you’ve settled down. It’s hard to go away alone and leave old chums behind- It’s hard to travel steerage when your tastes are more refined- To reach a place when times are bad, and to be standing there, No money in your pocket nor a decent rag to wear. But be forced from that fond clasp, from that last clinging kiss- By poverty! There is on earth no harder thing than this.
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