Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
Lines 5-6
A Moment – We uncertain step
For newness of the night –
- As we transition from a well-lit room to darkness, our eyes need a few moments to make sense of things.
- She calls the night “new” and, to our eyes, it is new.
- But remember, this isn’t just a poem about the way our eyes work. New situations can also make us pretty unsure of ourselves, much like the absence of light can make us a little unsteady until we are used to it.
- Yep, she’s using figurative language. The darkness is a metaphor for something we aren’t quite prepared for, and it’s an extended metaphor because she keeps it up throughout the entire poem.
Lines 7-8
Then – fit our Vision to the Dark –
And meet the Road – erect –
- Once we have a few moments to adjust, we can see the way ahead of us. The road is clear.
- If the darkness is a metaphor of something we aren’t prepared for, perhaps the road is a metaphor for our future.
- When we adjust to the unknown, we are better prepared to face the future ahead of us; we can “meet the Road – erect” or, with confidence.
- Notice that she again uses capitalization to make us pause for a moment on certain words; this time, they are Vision, Dark, and Road.