What Was Lost

What Was Lost - meaning Summary

Loss and Repeating Struggle

The poem expresses a mournful meditation on loss and futile repetition. The speaker sings of what has gone and fears what has been won, casting recent events as a battle replayed. The image of a lost king and lost soldiers frames a collective defeat, while movement toward both rising and setting still returns to the "same small stone," suggesting circular struggle, arrested progress, and unresolved grief.