How we cite our quotes: Line
Quote #1
Those Evenings of the Brain --
When not a Moon disclose a sign
[Lines 10-11]
It’s getting dark in the brain; this stanza deals with what happens to our minds when the uncertain appears. In a new situation, we don’t have any clues (like the guidance that moonlight might lend during a dark night) so we have to learn as we go. This is how we gain wisdom, says the speaker.
Quote #2
But as they learn to see
[Line 16]
Sight isn’t just given to us; it’s something we learn. We have to learn to see through the dark uncertainty and onto the road ahead of us. Though it might seem like a strange metaphor (after all, we don’t learn how to see, our eyes just do it for us) it actually makes sense: you might not be aware that your brain is learning to adjust to different levels of light, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Perhaps she’s saying that learning to deal with uncertainty can become as automatic as learning to see in dim lighting.
Quote #3
[…]something in the sight
Adjusts itself to Midnight
[Lines 18-19]
If adjusting our sight is something our bodies learned to do over time, then it follows that adjusting to the unknown is something our minds can learn to do, too. Or, so says the speaker. Her use of “midnight” instead of just “night” indicates that perhaps the darkest, deepest point of the night is something we can still overcome.