Traveling through the dark
By William E Stafford
Traveling through the dark I found a deer
dead on the edge of the Wilson River road.
It is usually best to roll them into the canyon:
that road is narrow; to swerve might make more dead.
By glow of the tail-light I stumbled back of the car
and stood by the heap, a doe, a recent killing;
she had stiffened already, almost cold.
I dragged her off; she was large in the belly.
My fingers touching her side brought me the reason--
her side was warm; her fawn lay there waiting,
alive, still , never to be born.
Beside that mountain road I hesitated.
The car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights;
under the hood purred the steady engine.
I stood in the glare of the warm exhaust turning red;
around our group I could hear the wilderness listen. Hesitation
I thought hard for us all--my only swervinq--,
then pushed her over the edge into the river. Here the character pushes away his problems
Traveling through the dark I found a deer
dead on the edge of the Wilson River road.
It is usually best to roll them into the canyon:
that road is narrow; to swerve might make more dead.
By glow of the tail-light I stumbled back of the car
and stood by the heap, a doe, a recent killing;
she had stiffened already, almost cold.
I dragged her off; she was large in the belly.
My fingers touching her side brought me the reason--
her side was warm; her fawn lay there waiting,
alive, still , never to be born.
Beside that mountain road I hesitated.
The car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights;
under the hood purred the steady engine.
I stood in the glare of the warm exhaust turning red;
around our group I could hear the wilderness listen. Hesitation
I thought hard for us all--my only swervinq--,
then pushed her over the edge into the river. Here the character pushes away his problems
An Analysis
To paraphrase, this poem is about a man that comes across a deer that is dead on the side of the road. It is not a rare occurrence, but it is a hard thing to deal with all the same. Under the light of his headlights he pushes the deer into the river. Even though it has a fawn.
In the title, the darkness means the shroud of what is done when no one is around.
Then, in the second stanza, the deer means the death of innocence.
In the third stanza, the alive fawn in the pregnant mother means that hope still exists.
Unfortunately the hope died with the innocence.
This poem an connect to Great Expectations: When Pip got his large amount of money, he became emotionally sterile.
The car and the lowered headlights symbolize society looking down on the narrator for killing the fawn
The theme of this poem is Sometimes hope dies with the innocence. And the tone is Dark and neutral.
In the title, the darkness means the shroud of what is done when no one is around.
Then, in the second stanza, the deer means the death of innocence.
In the third stanza, the alive fawn in the pregnant mother means that hope still exists.
Unfortunately the hope died with the innocence.
This poem an connect to Great Expectations: When Pip got his large amount of money, he became emotionally sterile.
The car and the lowered headlights symbolize society looking down on the narrator for killing the fawn
The theme of this poem is Sometimes hope dies with the innocence. And the tone is Dark and neutral.