Five A.M.
By William Stafford
Still dark, the early morning breathes[1]
a soft sound above the fire. Hooded
lights on porches lead past lawns,
a hedge; I pass the house of the couple
who have the baby, the yard with the little
dog; my feet pad and grit on the pavement, flicker
past streetlights; my arms alternate
easily to my pace. Where are my troubles?[2]
There are people in every country who never
turn into killers, saints have built
sanctuaries on islands and in valleys,
conquerors have quit and gone home, for thousands
of years farmers have worked their fields.[3]
My feet begin the uphill curve[4]
where a thicket spills with a birds every spring.
the air doesn't stir. Rain[5] touches my face.[6][7]
[1] Enjambment, not only expressed in this line, but others in the poem as well. This may be a contributor to the author's tone as a whole. This tone could be represented by an overall unfamiliarity with his own surroundings.
[2] A rhetorical question is used here to emphasize what the author is feeling at the end of the first stanza. This question also leads into the second stanza, where more is accepted and perceived than just the author himself and the situation that he is in.
[3] There isn’t a stanza break here, there was for the last time the author made the shift, but not here. I think he intends us to compare the two parts that form from the sharp focus shift.
[4] After pondering over life itself through others, the author begins to feel slightly encouraged. This is shown through him moving “uphill”. The motion of rising is commonly associated with positivity and courage. Though trudging uphill is more tasking than moving downhill.
[5] Water has a cleansing connotation, or is it possibly tears?
[6] Why is it free verse? I guess the free verse makes it more conversational and casual. A rhyme or strict structure would make this feel less like a man wondering aloud.
[7] Is Stafford arguing that his senses and his personal life outweigh the smallness he feels from his grand thoughts?