A Song Of Joys Comments

O the horseman's and horsewoman's joys! The saddle, the gallop, the pressure upon the seat, the cool gurgling by the ears and hair. O the fireman's joys! I hear the alarm at dead of night, I hear bells, shouts! I pass the crowd, I run! The sight of the flames maddens me with pleasure. O the joy of the strong-brawn'd fighter, towering in the arena in perfect condition, conscious of power, thirsting to meet his opponent.//

O the horseman's and horsewoman's joys! The saddle, the gallop, the pressure upon the seat, the cool gurgling by the ears and hair. O the fireman's joys! I hear the alarm at dead of night, I hear bells, shouts! I pass the crowd, I run! The sight of the flames maddens me with pleasure. O the joy of the strong-brawn'd fighter, towering in the arena in perfect condition, conscious of power, thirsting to meet his opponent.

The joy showered by mother nature through all her manifestations wonderfully narrated since the same lure the poet. Great poem of an equally great genius.

There are days when we feel like singing. There is a song in the existence for each one of us.

To sail along! Thanks for sharing.

Motion of waves.... thanks for posting....

This poem reflects perfectly the thoughts of an aging man who still has great passion for life. After more than 80 years of life, the speaker is realizing how much more there is that he still hasn't had the chance to do because of the role in society he's been expected to fulfill. And yet, he is still nostalgic for those things he did while playing the game. The speaker, now an old man, no longer feels bound down by society's rules, and feels comfortable claiming his masculinity and speaking in a voice that feels good and vibrates nicely in his ribcage, as well as his venerable motherhood, and all the boys he wishes were by his side through the day and in his bed through the night. The speaker sings of the joys of all things: good and bad, life and death, toilsome and simple... for the speaker, the joys of life are not necessarily joyful things, but insofar as he finds joy in them. However, despite the speaker's declaration of joy for the world and excitement to do as much as he can, the poem has an overarching tone of longing. The speaker wants to be all the farmers, the firemen, the army men, the fishers... but the ship he speaks of is metaphorical. The speaker is mourning all the joys of the world he's leaving behind, but singing the excitement of all the freedoms and adventures to come in death.