You will never be alone, you hear so deep
a sound when autumn comes. Yellow
pulls across the hills and thrums,
or the silence after lightning before it says
its name – and then the clouds’ wide-mouthed
apologies. You were aimed from birth:
you will never be alone. Rain
will come, a gutter filled, and Amazon,
long aisles – you never heard so deep a sound,
moss on rock, and years. You turn your head –
that’s what the silence meant: you’re not alone.
The whole wide world pours down.
By William Stafford
This poem’s title encapsulates what this poem is about, assurance. To assure the reader that they will never be alone, even in times it may seem inevitable. The author makes a point throughout the poem that even though the reader may feel alone, the reader will never actually be alone. They will always have nature and those who care around them. The line “you were aimed from birth” creates a sense of purpose no matter who the reader is or what they have experienced in their life. I could see how religious people might connect this poem with God. After all, God is supposed to instill a sense of assurance in people’s lives, much like this poem does. This poem also alludes to the fact that the reader might not truly realize they are never alone until they are faced with those worries. It takes a lot of self reflection to establish a sense of self, but how can you establish that if you are not alone?