Edward Thomas
To-day I want the sky,
The tops of the high hills,
Above the last man’s house,
His hedges, and his cows,
Where, if I will, I look
Down even on sheep and rook,
And of all things that move
See buzzards only above:—
Past all trees, past furze
And thorn, where nought deters
The desire of the eye
For sky, nothing but sky.
I sicken of the woods
And all the multitudes
Of hedge-trees. They are no more
Than weeds upon this floor
Of the river of air
Leagues deep, leagues wide, where
I am like a fish that lives
In weeds and mud and gives
What’s above him no thought.
I might be a tench for aught
That I can do to-day
Down on the wealden clay.
Even the tench has days
When he floats up and plays
Among the lily leaves
And sees the sky, or grieves
Not if he nothing sees:
While I, I know that trees
Under that lofty sky
Are weeds, fields mud, and I
Would arise and go far
To where the lilies are.
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Analysis (AI Assisted)
This poem expresses a yearning for freedom, vastness, and escape from the confinement of the everyday world. The speaker’s desire to leave behind the constraints of the “wealden clay” and ascend to a space of unbounded sky and high hills captures a universal longing for transcendence and renewal.
The opening lines convey an immediate and powerful craving for elevation—both physical and emotional. The speaker seeks the “tops of the high hills,” a place above human activity and the encroachments of civilization. There is a sense of weariness with the familiar, as the “last man’s house,” “hedges,” and “cows” represent the mundane and limiting aspects of life.
The imagery contrasts the vast expanse of the sky with the dense, enclosing nature of the woods. Trees, traditionally symbols of life and stability, are here dismissed as “weeds,” suggesting they contribute to the speaker’s sense of entrapment. This inversion reflects a deep frustration with what might otherwise be considered comforting or grounding elements of the natural world.
The comparison of the speaker to a tench—a bottom-dwelling fish—emphasizes a feeling of being mired in the lower depths, detached from the open expanses above. Yet, even the tench occasionally rises to see the lilies and the sky. This comparison imbues the poem with a poignant sense of envy and restlessness, as the speaker feels unable to break free from their own “weeds and mud.”
The poem’s structure mirrors its theme. The lines are fluid and cascading, mimicking the river of air and the speaker’s mental journey upward. The repetition of “sky” reinforces its allure and the singular focus of the speaker’s desire. The tone is contemplative but tinged with frustration, as the yearning for escape remains unfulfilled.
Ultimately, the poem captures a deep human impulse to transcend the limitations of the immediate and reach for something higher, whether that be a physical place, a state of mind, or a sense of freedom. It speaks to the universal longing for release from the mundane and the pull of something vast and infinite.