There Was One I Met Upon the Road
There Was One I Met Upon the Road - meaning Summary
Judgment Softened by Compassion
The speaker meets a kind-eyed stranger who inspects the things the speaker offers, repeatedly declaring each item "a sin." After the speaker has nothing left to show, the stranger responds with increased kindness and pity. The poem stages a simple moral exchange about accusation and exhaustion, suggesting that relentless judgment can elicit compassion once a person has been emptied of defenses or pretenses.
Read Complete AnalysesThere was one I met upon the road Who looked at me with kind eyes. He said, "Show me of your wares." And this I did, Holding forth one. He said, "It is a sin." Then held I forth another; He said, "It is a sin." Then held I forth another; He said, "It is a sin." And so to the end; Always he said, "It is a sin." And, finally, I cried out, "But I have none other." Then did he look at me With kinder eyes. "Poor soul!" he said.
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