As I Walked Out One Evening
Concerning iambic pentameter, the poem only meets these requirements part of the time. For example, during lines like, “Walking down Bristol Street,” one could say it is akin to iambic pentameter, as the first syllable is quick, and the second long. However, most of the lines, like this one, “I heard a lover sing,” at the beginning of stanza two, does not meet the requirements at all. Therefore, the poem could not be a sonnet.
Typically the rhyming words are not forced or obvious, but instead rather subtle despite the fact that they do indeed obviously rhyme. For example, “Street,” and, “Wheat,” are exhibited in the first stanza and while they clearly rhyme, the way in which they are used in the stanza shows the words are not forced. Far more subtle rhymes, such as, “Sing,” and, “Ending,” in the second stanza may make the reader take a second look at the poem. The words do technically rhyme. “Hold,” and, “World,” is also words further in the poem that are subtle in their rhyme scheme.
The meaning of the poem does appear to be clear. It begins with an individual tells of how long they will love another individual. They proclaim their love will last, seemingly, for all of eternity. Until, “the ocean/ Is folded and hung to dry,” and, “Salmon sing in the street.” These are things that obviously cannot happen, which makes us think the love will last forever. The poem goes on to surmise the individuals will outlast time. Another speaker comes forth, it seems, reminding the two they cannot outlast time, and the poem eventually ends with, “It was late, late in the evening/ The lovers they were gone/ The clocks had ceased their chiming/ and the deep river ran on.” The last stanza symbolizes the loss of love, but the endurance of time and nature.
The comparisons, metaphors, and images used in the poem appear to work together as a whole. We envision things that cannot happen, such as salmon dancing in the street in comparison to how long the couple will remain in love. When they are reminded they cannot outrun time, we are reminded also of cracked dishes, and a dying valley that could not be sustained by anything, least of all love. After the lovers leave, time has gone but a river, which was used as an image to represent love before, still flows on, disengaging it from any previous sentimentality. In so doing, all of the details appear to function together to satisfy the poem as a whole. The images are first used to show us how powerful the love feels. However, the images are irrational and almost flippant. The love may not be love at all, but lust. Later, when the lovers are reminded of the seriousness of time, the images become grave and foreboding, much like real love and real life sometimes are. Quickly the love or lust is abandoned and the river is left to flow unaccompanied by the restraint of young lust. In the examination of these details, the richness of the poem does not increase. The poem is actually relatively transparent and while it may make the poem more opulent when these images and juxtapositions are explored, it does not changes the obvious beginning message, which is that young love, when not real, does not last.
