As the second stanza continues, the reader and author or joined together as Stafford progresses from “you” (8) to “You and I” (9) to “We” (10) and “us” (13). The peaceful tone is stronger in the second stanza as Stafford describes the river as “silent” (10) and refers to the river’s current as “hidden” (11) which is also a comment on how most people have much more going on beneath the surface. Most people do not display every thought or emotions on their face for the world to see. Much like a river, one’s thoughts are hidden like a current. Stafford introduces the contrast between the placidity of the river and the distance and movement experienced by the water: “comings and goings from miles away / that hold the stillness exactly before us” (12-13). This is a comment on how one can feel like their world or their life is halted, but the world is still turning and time is still passing, just because the perceive stillness does not mean that it is actually still. Stafford ends his poem with actually comparing himself to the river by stating: “What the river says, that is what I say” (14). Stafford was known as a believer in non-violence which elucidates why he compared himself to the peaceful river and its flow. He acknowledges he has made mistakes, but he refuses to stop pushing on in his journey, much like the river will never stop even if the current or movement is hidden. The last line of the poem gives the reader a sense of finality, but ends on an expansive note that is open ended and allows for various
As the second stanza continues, the reader and author or joined together as Stafford progresses from “you” (8) to “You and I” (9) to “We” (10) and “us” (13). The peaceful tone is stronger in the second stanza as Stafford describes the river as “silent” (10) and refers to the river’s current as “hidden” (11) which is also a comment on how most people have much more going on beneath the surface. Most people do not display every thought or emotions on their face for the world to see. Much like a river, one’s thoughts are hidden like a current. Stafford introduces the contrast between the placidity of the river and the distance and movement experienced by the water: “comings and goings from miles away / that hold the stillness exactly before us” (12-13). This is a comment on how one can feel like their world or their life is halted, but the world is still turning and time is still passing, just because the perceive stillness does not mean that it is actually still. Stafford ends his poem with actually comparing himself to the river by stating: “What the river says, that is what I say” (14). Stafford was known as a believer in non-violence which elucidates why he compared himself to the peaceful river and its flow. He acknowledges he has made mistakes, but he refuses to stop pushing on in his journey, much like the river will never stop even if the current or movement is hidden. The last line of the poem gives the reader a sense of finality, but ends on an expansive note that is open ended and allows for various