Charles Sorley
He watched the river running black
Beneath the blacker sky;
It did not pause upon its track
Of silent instancy.
It did not hasten, nor was slack,
But still went gliding by.
It was so black. There was no wind
Its patience to defy.
It was not that the man had sinned,
Or that he wished to die.
Only the wide and silent tide
Went slowly sweeping by.
The mass of blackness moving down
Filled full of dreams the eye;
The lights of all the lighted town
Upon its breast did lie.
The tall black trees were upside down
In the river’s phantasy.
He had an envy for its black
Inscrutability;
He felt impatiently the lack
Of that great law whereby
The river never travels back
But still goes gliding by;
But still goes gliding by, nor clings
To passing things that die,
Nor shows the secrets that it brings
From its strange source on high.
And he felt “We are two living things
And the weaker one is I.”
He saw the town, that living stack
Piled up against the sky.
He saw the river running black
On, on and on: O, why
Could he not move along his track
With such consistency?
He had a yearning for the strength
That comes of unity:
The union of one soul at length
With its twin-soul to lie;
To be a part of one great strength
That moves and cannot die.
* * * * *
He watched the river running black
Beneath the blacker sky.
He pulled his coat about his back,
He did not strive nor cry.
He put his foot upon the track
That still went gliding by
The thing that never travels back
Received him silently.
And there was left no shred, no wrack
To show the reason why:
Only the river running black
Beneath the blacker sky.
_February 1913_
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Analysis (AI Assisted)
This poem reflects on the themes of time, death, and the inevitability of fate, through the metaphor of a river running endlessly beneath a dark sky. The river, described as “black,” symbolizes a force of nature that moves with a quiet, unstoppable momentum, indifferent to the passing of time or individual struggles. The speaker gazes upon it with a sense of longing, wishing he could possess the same inscrutability and patience the river embodies.
The opening lines establish the river’s motion, which is neither hurried nor delayed but simply “gliding by.” This steady flow is contrasted with the speaker’s own sense of restlessness, his envy for the river’s ability to move forward without hesitation or remorse. The river’s path is inevitable, and its lack of attachment to the past—“it never travels back”—reflects the human desire to let go of regrets and move forward with purpose.
Throughout the poem, the speaker yearns for a strength that he feels the river possesses, a strength that comes from “unity,” from the idea of being part of something larger that cannot be broken or diverted. The river represents this unity, flowing with consistent, unbroken force, while the speaker seems to feel weak in comparison, unable to maintain such momentum in his own life. The idea of a “twin-soul” is introduced here, reflecting a deep desire for connection or wholeness—a union that might grant him the same strength and tranquility he perceives in the river.
The second half of the poem brings a dramatic shift, as the speaker seems to reconcile with the river’s motion. He walks toward the track, “the thing that never travels back,” suggesting a metaphor for death or the finality of the passage of time. The silence that follows his departure emphasizes the inevitability of the journey and the impossibility of resisting it. His disappearance into the river’s flow—”received him silently”—suggests a surrender, a release into the larger, unstoppable current of existence.
In the final lines, the absence of any remains or “shred” of the speaker points to the idea that life, like the river, moves on without leaving behind tangible traces of individual struggles. The river, once again described as “running black beneath the blacker sky,” suggests an eternal, unfeeling force that continues on, indifferent to the lives that pass through it.
Ultimately, this poem explores a deep sense of existential reflection, with the river acting as a symbol of time, fate, and the acceptance of life’s unyielding nature. The speaker’s yearning for the river’s consistency and strength is matched by his eventual submission to the inevitable flow of life, death, and the passage of time.