"The Wood Pile" by Robert Frost.

The most obvious and blatant image in the poem is, of course, nature. The poem contains the wood pile itself, a swamp, winter scenery (snow), and birds as well as the narrator's fascination with communicating with such creatures. The narrator in this poem appears to be exploring nature, people, etc., and doesn't seem to have a clear background, identity, and is certainly not limited in points of view. This poem appears to be able to take on several different meaning, like a poetic chameleon.

This poem, as a first basis, appears to have very little plot or substance - no underlying secrets, etc. A man goes out for a walk, decides to turn around, then decides to go further and see what lies ahead. The man sees a bird and ponders what the bird might possibly be thinking, until the bird finally settles behind a pile of wood.

Microsoft Narrator

The "Japanese" narrator of My Japan.

The Narrator

The wood is described in such a manner to make the reader realize that is has been around for quite a while. The narrator continues on, contemplating who might have left the wood there "And leave it there far from a useful fireplace..." (line 38). The poem is as ambiguous as my simplified summary. At first we come in contact with the narrator who goes out for a walk - is he escaping something, fleeing, or is he looking for something? He, during this walk, decides to turn back, and the reader questions if the narrator is returning to something, going "back" to something. He decides to continue on and "see," but the reader questions what the narrator means by that statement. Is the narrator looking to see something, as in see what happens, or see where the path leads him, or maybe see if this walk changes his life...