(BY WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE)
An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide.
Through which was flowing a sullen tide
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build this bridge at evening tide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head;
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followed after me to-day
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”
My Synopsis:
This short poem is widely read by many literature students all around the world in different languages. I came across this lovely poem in my early years. I chanced upon it again while tidying my private library at home just now.
By and large, the themes of the poem are: ‘Selflessness Love’, ‘Pursuit of Mastery’ and ‘Acceptance of Individuality’. In my view, the author has significantly embedded these hidden messages through the main character and his soliloquy. To me, it is highly suspicious that the “fellow pilgrim” actually symbolises the high-esteemed inner self that the main character is trying to conquer, convince and concede.
Well, some may argue that there are actually two characters in this poem. One is redempting himself from the wrongs he committed in youth. The other is representing the saintly masses who question endlessly at his every attempt. With this, I challenge the truth in ‘To err is human, to forgive divine’.
I respect all different interpretations of this poem. Happy reading.
(曾经中/英文文学是生命全部, 现在依然如此, 但没那么狂了.)😊
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1&2) Bloggers’ own collection
3) Blogger CCBC.com
4) Wolveton mountain com
Photocredits: Blogger’s collection
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