I Worried
I Worried - meaning Summary
Choosing Life Over Worry
The poem follows a speaker overwhelmed by worries about the world, personal mistakes, illness, and her own inadequacy. These questions make life seem unmanageable until she recognizes that anxiety achieves nothing. The ending shifts toward acceptance: she leaves rumination behind, enters the morning in her aging body, and sings. It presents attention to the living world and simple action as an alternative to fearful self-questioning.
Read Complete AnalysesI worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers flow in the right direction, will the earth turn as it was taught, and if not how shall I correct it? Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven, can I do better? Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows can do it and I am, well, hopeless. Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it, am I going to get rheumatism, lockjaw, dementia? Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing. And I gave it up. And took my old body and went out into the morning, and sang.
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