The Apology
Think me not unkind and rude,
That I walk alone in grove and glen;
I go to the god of the wood
To fetch his word to men.
Tax not my sloth that I
Fold my arms beside the brook;
Each cloud that floated in the sky
Writes a letter in my book.
Chide me not, laborious band,
For the idle flowers I brought;
Every aster in my hand
Goes home loaded with a thought.
There was never mystery,
But 'tis figured in the flowers,
Was never secret history,
But birds tell it in the bowers.
One harvest from thy field
Homeward brought the oxen strong;
A second crop thine acres yield,
Which I gather in a song.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Explanation
This poem is in the form of an apology.It is written by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The poem starts with a plea from the poet.He tells the hard working men in the field not to think of him as unkind and rude he is walking through groves and valleys while they worked.He says he is a poet who is able to translate the beauties God has created, into words for people to read and enjoy.He says that the brooks and clouds trigger his imagination and take shape in words. Each flower he touches has made him think of the wonders of God's creation and fills his mind with thoughts. He says the flowers are God's own mystery and the birds which chirp and twitter in the bowers in the garden seem to be telling some secrets to him.
He goes on to say that the harvest from their field was carried home by the strong oxen and the second harvest was the thought given by their acres which has turned into a poem.
It is a beautiful poem written expertly by the poet. Though it is in the form of an apology, it extols the beauty and the mystery of nature.He lauds the hard work of the farmers who produce crops for humanity to eat. In the same manner, he, the poet produces poems which are food for the mind.
Think me not unkind and rude,
That I walk alone in grove and glen;
The poet asks the people not to think of him as unkind and rude, that he walks, in groves and valleys.
I go to the god of the wood
To fetch his word to men.
He says that he goes to the nature to convey what it says to others.
Tax not my sloth that I
Fold my arms beside the brook;
He begs them not to scold him for his laziness, when he stands by the brooks doing nothing but to fold his hands.
Each cloud that floated in the sky
Writes a letter in my book.
He says that each cloud that floats in the sky makes him become poetical and write poems in his notebook.
Chide me not, laborious band,
For the idle flowers I brought;
He asks the hardworking people not to scold him for the flowers he had brought which are of no use to him. The poet uses the word 'idle' for it.
Every aster in my hand
Goes home loaded with a thought.
He says each aster flower he has in his hands inspires him to become poetical.
There was never mystery,
But 'tis figured in the flowers,
Was never secret history,
But birds tell it in the bowers.
He says that flowers are mysterious in their own way. The way they bloom, and the chirping of birds is a kind of history they tell in the garden.
One harvest from thy field
Homeward brought the oxen strong;
One harvest is done from the fields, and the strong oxen brings the harvested grain homeward.
A second crop thine acres yield,
Which I gather in a song.
The second harvest that the field yields is the poem that is written by the poet, in its humour.
Sloth - Lazy
Brook - A narrow stream
Chide - Scold
Laborious - Hard working
Aster - A type of flower
Q & A
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