Something Left Undone
Something Left Undone - meaning Summary
Unfinished Tasks' Persistent Weight
Longfellow’s poem reflects on the human condition of unfinished work and the persistent weight of responsibilities that accumulate despite effort. Tasks and obligations linger like a mendicant, turning each day heavier until the burden seems overwhelming. The closing image likens people to mythic dwarfs bearing the sky, suggesting both endurance and resignation. The tone is reflective, noting inevitability rather than offering resolution or instruction.
Read Complete AnalysesLabor with what zeal we will, Something still remains undone, Something uncompleted still Waits the rising of the sun. By the bedside, on the stair, At the threshhold, near the gates, With its menace or its prayer, Like a medicant it waits; Waits, and will not go away; Waits, and will not be gainsaid; By the cares of yesterday Each to-day is heavier made; Till at length the burden seems Greater than our strength can bear, Heavy as the weight of dreams Pressing on us everywhere. And we stand from day to day, Like the dwarfs of times gone by, Who, as Northern legends say, On their shoulders held the sky.
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