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Sitting by a Bush in Broad Sunlight
When I spread out my hand here today,
I catch no more than a ray
To feel of between thumb and fingers;
No lasting effect of it lingers.
There was one time and only the one
When dust really took in the sun;
And from that one intake of fire
All creatures still warmly suspire.
And if men have watched a long time
And never seen sun-smitten slime
Again come to life and crawl off,
We not be too ready to scoff.
God once declared he was true
And then took the veil and withdrew,
And remember how final a hush
Then descended of old on the bush.
God once spoke to people by name.
The sun once imparted its flame.
One impulse persists as our breath;
The other persists as our faith.
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| Sitting by a Bush in Broad Sunlight |
Summary and Analysis
Introduction:
Sitting by a Bush in Broad Sunlight is a short poem of religious nature in West-Running Brook. Frost's approach is not mystical. He allows to bring proprietary of spiritual faith of folks.
Summary:
The poem deals with the changes undergone by religion since the ages of faith. God, who once spoke to men by name has now withdrawn all obvious signs of His existence. But Frost does not believe in prayer or penance to reach God. Nor does he find the world charged with the grandeur of God. Sitting by a bush in broad sunlight, the sunlight does not penetrate the poet's fingers; similarly the spiritual fire does not create new life from "sun-smitten slime" and God does not intervene directly in man's affairs. The analogy is clearly stated. The bush is the burning bush of Moses, but it does not burn any longer, for the one revelation has been given.
Critical Analysis:
The last four stanza interpret in general terms what is said in the first stanza. The poem, as the title also indicates, matches Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. On the surface, the poem seems a simple descriptive piece recording the vivid pictures coining of close observation. However, the poem is meditative and has great significance, ending on a note of faith.