What Was Lost
time
loss
lyric poem
somber
I sing what was lost and dread what was won, I walk in a battle fought over again, My king a lost king, and lost soldiers my men; Feet to the Rising and Setting may run, They always beat on the same small stone.
What Was Lost - meaning Summary
Loss and Repeating Struggle
The poem expresses a mournful meditation on loss and futile repetition. The speaker sings of what has gone and fears what has been won, casting recent events as a battle replayed. The image of a lost king and lost soldiers frames a collective defeat, while movement toward both rising and setting still returns to the "same small stone," suggesting circular struggle, arrested progress, and unresolved grief.
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