Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Gary Snyder’s "All Through the Rains" is a compact yet evocative poem that captures resilience, wildness, and the quiet persistence of life through shifting seasons. Like much of Snyder’s work, it takes a seemingly simple moment—watching a horse endure the elements—and expands it into a meditation on nature and autonomy.

The opening image establishes a scene of exposure and endurance: "That mare stood in the field— / A big pine tree and a shed, / But she stayed in the open / Ass to the wind, splash wet." The mare has the option of shelter—the pine tree and the shed—but she chooses instead to remain in the open, bracing herself against the rain. This choice suggests an innate toughness, an acceptance of the natural world on its own terms. Snyder’s phrasing is economical but precise; "Ass to the wind, splash wet" emphasizes the mare’s pragmatic response to the storm, neither seeking refuge nor resisting, but simply existing within it.

The poem then shifts to an attempted interaction between human and animal: "I tried to catch her April / for a bareback ride, / She kicked and bolted." The speaker’s effort to ride the mare is met with resistance, an assertion of the horse’s wild independence. The choice of the word "April" is significant—it suggests renewal and energy, aligning the mare’s spirited defiance with the untamed vitality of spring. The image of the "bareback ride" also implies a kind of natural communion between human and horse, but the mare rejects even this non-invasive attempt at control. Her reaction—"She kicked and bolted"—reinforces her autonomy; she is not to be broken or domesticated.

The final lines provide a contrast to this moment of defiance: "Later grazing fresh shoots / In the shade of the down / Eucalyptus on the hill." After the storm, after the chase, the mare is at peace, feeding on new growth beneath a eucalyptus tree that has fallen. The "down / Eucalyptus" suggests both destruction and renewal—a tree has collapsed, but it provides shelter and perhaps nourishment in its own way. The mare, having refused human intervention, is fully in sync with the rhythms of the land.

At its core, "All Through the Rains" is a quiet affirmation of wildness, endurance, and self-sufficiency. The mare, much like the natural world Snyder often celebrates, exists on her own terms, indifferent to human efforts to contain or command her. The poem’s brevity mirrors its subject’s simplicity and strength—there is no excess, no embellishment, just the clear-eyed observation of an animal weathering the elements and continuing on. In this way, Snyder encapsulates a philosophy of respect for nature’s autonomy, suggesting that true wisdom comes not from attempting to master the wild, but from watching, learning, and letting it be.

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