American Poet, Robert P. Tristram, is known for his many poems, ballads and essays that were often based on New England farm and seafaring life. His works depicted the good in the world. The poem discussed here departs from the cheery narrative and takes on a morose tone as the persona, now an adult, laments an act he committed as a child.
Forgive My Guilt
Not always sure what things called sins may be,
I am sure of one sin I have done.
It was years ago, and I was a boy,
I lay in the frostflowers with a gun,
The air ran blue as the flowers, I held my breath,
Two birds on golden legs slim as dream things
Ran like quicksilver on the golden sand,
My gun went off, they ran with broken wings
Into the sea, I ran to fetch them in,
But they swam with their heads high out to sea,
They cried like two sorrowful high flutes,
with jagged ivory bones where wings should be.
——-
For days I heard them when I walked that headland
Crying out to their kind in the blue,
The other plovers were going over south
On silver wings leaving these broken two.
The cries went out one day; but I still hear them
Over all the sounds of sorrow in war or peace
I ever have heard, time cannot drown them,
Those slender flutes of sorrow never cease.
Two airy things forever denied the air!
I never knew how their lives were at last spilt,
But I have hoped for years all that is wild,
Airy, and beautiful will forgive my guilt.
The Breakdown
Stanza 1
Not always sure what things called sins may be,
I am sure of one sin I have done.
As soon as the poem begins we are privy to one of the main themes of the poem, remorse. The first two lines also hints that the persona is either religious or comes from a religious background. This is supported by his concern and uncertainty as to what constitutes a sin as to what doesn’t. He then continues to relate the situation that has weighed so heavily on his heart over the years.
It was years ago and I was a boy,
I lay in the frostflowers with a gun,
The air ran as blue as the flowers, I held my breath,
These lines are laden with imagery and set the scene for the event the persona is about to explain. The mood of the poem shifts slightly from one of remorse to suspense and anticipation. With regards to literary devices, a simile is used to compare the air and the flowers and the movements of the air are personified by the action ‘ran’.
Two birds on golden legs slim as dream things,
Ran like quicksilver on the golden sand,
In both lines above, simile’s are used to give the reader an idea of the bird’s legs and the colour of the sand. The description as golden refers to the beauty of the and delicate nature of the bird legs and for the sand it gives us an idea of how it appeared to the persona.
The description of the birds running ‘like quicksilver on the golden sand’ indicates the unpredictable or ever changing movement of the birds. They were not running in one straight line or along any particular path on the sand; their movements were erratic.
My gun went off, they ran with broken wings
Into the sea I ran to fetch them in,
But they swam with their heads high out to sea,
‘They ran with broken wings’ tells us where the birds were shot. They, however, did not give up. They ran as far as the sea and ‘swam with their heads high’. which could indicate the fact that even as they escaped the birds had a certain pride about them, or a simple reference to the fact that they were struggling to keep their heads high above the water so that they would not drown.
They cried like two sorrowful high flutes,
With jagged ivory bones where wings should be.
The pain the birds were feeling was evident in their cries. The fact that the persona remembers their cries as an adult shows us how heavily his past actions weighed on his heart. His guilt ran deep. We have two types of imagery represented in these lines:
- Auditory– ‘cried like two sorrowful high flutes’
- Visual– ‘jagged ivory bones’
Simile features again in the description of the bird’s cries.
Stanza 2
For days I heard them when I walked that headland
Crying out to their kind in the blue,
The other plovers were going south
On silver wings leaving these broken two.
The persona did not manage to catch the birds. They were still alive and dying a slow and painful death. The other plovers were flying south leaving the two birds the person shot behind. The fact that the birds were flying south indicates that the weather was changing and most likely getting colder. This explains the frostflowers the persona found himself laying in as he prepared to shoot the birds in stanza 1.
The end of the sentence ‘leaving these broken two’ is an example of the literary device: double entendre. The birds were literally broken because they were shot. The persona could also be referring to their emotional state as they were crying and most likely in pain because they were dying.
The cries went out one day; but I still hear them
Over all the sounds of sorrow in war or peace
I ever have heard, time cannot drown them,
Those slender flutes of sorrow never cease.
‘Their cries went out one day,’ the birds finally died; ‘…but I still hear them…those slender flutes of sorrow never cease,’ no matter what is going on in his life as time passes, the cries of the birds weigh heavily on his heart.
Two airy things forever denied the air!
The plovers were meant to live in the air but because of the persona’s actions they were denied the privilege at the end of their life.
I never knew how their lives at last were spilt,
But I have hoped for years all that is wild,
Airy, and beautiful will forgive my guilt.
He doesn’t know how the birds actually died, another indication that he left them alive, but he has always hoped that he would be forgiven by ‘all that is wild, airy and beautiful.’ He realises his wrong and knows he should not have done it.