"Just as the ties recur beneath his train, these underlie / his rushing brain."
— Bishop, Elizabeth (1911-1979)
Work Title
Publisher
Houghton Mifflin
Date
1946
Metaphor
"Just as the ties recur beneath his train, these underlie / his rushing brain."
Metaphor in Context
Each night he must
be carried through artificial tunnels and dream recurrent dreams.
Just as the ties recur beneath his train, these underlie
his rushing brain. He does not dare look out the window,
for the third rail, the unbroken draught of poison,
runs there beside him. He regards it as a disease
he has inherited susceptibility to. He has to keep
his hands in his pockets, as others must wear mufflers.
(p. 16, ll. 33-40)
be carried through artificial tunnels and dream recurrent dreams.
Just as the ties recur beneath his train, these underlie
his rushing brain. He does not dare look out the window,
for the third rail, the unbroken draught of poison,
runs there beside him. He regards it as a disease
he has inherited susceptibility to. He has to keep
his hands in his pockets, as others must wear mufflers.
(p. 16, ll. 33-40)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Bishop, Elizabeth. "The Man-Moth." The Complete Poems. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1969. Fourth printing, 1975.
Date of Entry
12/23/2009
