Poetry & Analysis
Mountain Poems About Night and Solitude
Nature PoemsBivouac on a Mountain Side
I see before me now a traveling army halting,
Below a fertile valley spread, with barns and the orchards of summer,
Behind, the terraced sides of a mountain, abrupt, in places rising high,
Broken, with rocks, with clinging cedars, with tall shapes dingily seen,
The numerous camp-fires scatter’d near and far, some away up on the mountain,
The shadowy forms of men and horses, looming, large-sized, flickering,
And over all the sky—the sky! far, far out of reach, studded, breaking out, the eternal stars.
Overview Short Summary
A halted army rests between a fertile valley and a rugged mountainside. Campfires, shadowed figures, and stars turn a wartime scene into a vast night landscape.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Human life within nature: The army appears temporary beneath the enduring mountain and stars.
- War and stillness: A military camp is shown during a pause rather than during battle.
- Mountain solitude: Distance and darkness make the figures seem isolated.
Literary Technique Imagery and Scale
Whitman moves the reader’s eye from valley to mountain, campfires, men, horses, and finally the unreachable sky. The widening view reduces the army to one flickering part of a much larger world.
It Sifts from Leaden Sieves
It sifts from Leaden Sieves –
It powders all the Wood.
It fills with Alabaster Wool
The Wrinkles of the Road –
It makes an Even Face
Of Mountain, and of Plain –
Unbroken Forehead from the East
Unto the East again –
It reaches to the Fence –
It wraps it Rail by Rail
Till it is lost in Fleeces –
It deals Celestial Vail
To Stump, and Stack – and Stem –
A Summer’s empty Room –
Acres of Joints, where Harvests were,
Recordless, but for them –
It Ruffles Wrists of Posts
As Ankles of a Queen –
Then stills its Artisans – like Ghosts –
Denying they have been –
Overview Short Summary
Snow gradually covers woods, roads, mountains, plains, fences, fields, and posts until the familiar landscape is transformed into one smooth white surface.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Transformation: Snow erases divisions between mountain and plain.
- Silence: The completed landscape appears untouched and almost supernatural.
- Hidden labor: The storm’s “artisans” complete their work and vanish.
Literary Technique Imagery and Personification
Dickinson compares snow to flour, wool, fleece, a veil, and royal clothing. These metaphors make the storm feel both domestic and ceremonial, while the final ghosts suggest an invisible creative force.
The Runaway
Once when the snow of the year was beginning to fall,
We stopped by a mountain pasture to say, “Whose colt?”
A little Morgan had one forefoot on the wall,
The other curled at his breast. He dipped his head
And snorted at us. And then he had to bolt.
We heard the miniature thunder where he fled,
And we saw him, or thought we saw him, dim and grey,
Like a shadow against the curtain of falling flakes.
“I think the little fellow’s afraid of the snow.
He isn’t winter-broken. It isn’t play
With the little fellow at all. He’s running away.
I doubt if even his mother could tell him, ‘Sakes,
It’s only weather.’ He’d think she didn’t know!
Where is his mother? He can’t be out alone.”
And now he comes again with a clatter of stone
And mounts the wall again with whited eyes
And all his tail that isn’t hair up straight.
He shudders his coat as if to throw off flies.
“Whoever it is that leaves him out so late,
When other creatures have gone to stall and bin,
Ought to be told to come and take him in.”
Overview Short Summary
As snow begins falling over a mountain pasture, two observers notice a frightened young colt left outdoors. Its panic turns the winter scene into a study of vulnerability and care.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Fear of the unfamiliar: The colt cannot understand that the snow is ordinary weather.
- Compassion: The speakers recognize that the animal needs shelter and protection.
- Mountain winter: Falling snow, stone walls, and pasture create a vivid cold-weather setting.
Literary Technique Imagery and Sound
“Miniature thunder,” “curtain of falling flakes,” and “clatter of stone” combine sound and movement. The colt’s white eyes and raised tail make its fear physically visible.
A Patch of Old Snow
There’s a patch of old snow in a corner
That I should have guessed
Was a blow-away paper the rain
Had brought to rest.
It is speckled with grime as if
Small print overspread it,
The news of a day I’ve forgotten—
If I ever read it.
Overview Short Summary
An old, dirty patch of snow looks like a discarded newspaper. The comparison leads the speaker to think about forgotten news and how quickly yesterday loses importance.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Passing time: Old snow and old news both become remnants.
- Memory: The speaker cannot remember whether the forgotten “news” was ever understood.
- Ordinary observation: A small winter detail opens into reflection.
Craft Metaphor
The entire poem grows from one visual metaphor: grimy snow resembles a windblown printed page. That simple comparison connects weather, time, and forgetfulness.
Dust of Snow
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.
Overview Short Summary
A crow accidentally shakes snow from a hemlock tree onto the speaker. The small surprise changes his mood and rescues part of a day he had been regretting.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Emotional renewal: A brief natural moment interrupts unhappiness.
- Unexpected hope: The crow and hemlock are traditionally dark images, yet they produce relief.
- Small experiences: A minor event can meaningfully change a person’s day.
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