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Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained | |||
"Walking Across the Atlantic" by Billy Collins offers a brief yet expansive meditation on imagination, solitude, and the relationship between the human and natural worlds. Through the simple, fantastical premise of walking across the ocean, Collins explores themes of exploration, contemplation, and the desire for connection with nature. The poem begins with the speaker waiting for "the holiday crowd to clear the beach" before embarking on an extraordinary journey across the Atlantic Ocean. This initial action sets the tone for the poem, suggesting a departure from the ordinary and a step into the realm of imagination. The crowd's absence underscores the poem's focus on solitude and personal reflection, distancing the speaker from the rest of humanity to highlight a singular, introspective experience. As the speaker walks across the Atlantic, pondering Spain, checking for whales and waterspouts, there is a sense of the vastness of the world and the smallness of the individual within it. This journey is not just a physical crossing but a mental and emotional exploration, where the act of walking on water becomes a metaphor for traversing the depths of one's thoughts and dreams. The line "I feel the water holding up my shifting weight" conveys a sense of support and connection with the natural world, emphasizing the delicate balance between human presence and the environment. This balance is further explored in the speaker's consideration of how the scene might appear to the fish below, with the "bottoms of my feet appearing, disappearing." This perspective shift invites readers to consider the interplay between visibility and invisibility, presence and absence, and how we move through the world often unaware of the impressions we leave behind. The poem's conclusion, with the speaker planning to "sleep on its rocking surface" that night, evokes a sense of peace and unity with the natural world. This final image of sleeping on the ocean's surface symbolizes a deep trust in and surrender to the forces of nature, suggesting a desire to be enveloped by its vastness and mystery. "Walking Across the Atlantic" is characterized by Collins's signature blend of accessibility and depth, using a seemingly whimsical scenario to delve into profound reflections on human existence, our place in the natural world, and the power of the imagination to transcend physical boundaries. Through this brief poetic journey, Collins invites readers to step beyond the familiar, to explore the unknown spaces within themselves and the world around them, and to find solace in the vast, supportive embrace of nature.
| Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE DINKEY-BIRD by EUGENE FIELD SONNET: 9 by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY RECONCILIATION by GEORGE WILLIAM RUSSELL THE DRUM: THE NARRATIVE OF THE DEMON OF TEDWORTH by EDITH SITWELL ON THE FUNERAL OF CHARLES I; AT NIGHT, IN ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL, WINDSOR by WILLIAM LISLE BOWLES THE DREAMER by DOROTHY COLLINS IN SPRING-TIME by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES FORGIVENESS by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE |
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