I Looked Up
I looked up and there it was among the green branches of the pitchpines – thick bird, a ruffle of fire trailing over the shoulders and down the back – color of copper, iron, bronze – lighting up the dark branches of the pine. What misery to be afraid of death. What wretchedness, to believe only in what can be proven. When I made a little sound it looked at me, then it looked past me. Then it rose, the wings enormous and opulent, and, as I said, wreathed in fire.
I Looked Up - meaning Summary
Wonder Against Fear
The poem records a brief encounter with a brilliantly colored bird in a pine tree, then turns that sight into a challenge to human fear and skepticism. Its speaker sees the bird as a vivid presence beyond easy explanation, suggesting that attention to the natural world can unsettle a life governed by dread of death or by demands for proof. The bird's departure preserves its mystery.
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