It’s little I care what path I take,
And where it leads it’s little I care;
But out of this house, lest my heart break,
I must go, and off somewhere.

It’s little I know what’s in my heart,
What’s in my mind it’s little I know,
But there’s that in me must up and start,
And it’s little I care where my feet go.

I wish I could walk for a day and a night,
And find me at dawn in a desolate place
With never the rut of a road in sight,
Nor the roof of a house, nor the eyes of a face.

I wish I could walk till my blood should spout,
And drop me, never to stir again,
On a shore that is wide, for the tide is out,
And the weedy rocks are bare to the rain.

But dump or dock, where the path I take
Brings up, it’s little enough I care:
And it’s little I’d mind the fuss they’ll make,
Huddled dead in a ditch somewhere.

‘Is something the matter, dear,’ she said,
‘That you sit at your work so silently?’
‘No, mother, no, ’twas a knot in my thread.
There goes the kettle, I’ll make the tea.’

Analysis, meaning and summary of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem Departure

1 Comment

  1. Lizzie says:

    Wow. Her poetry is great and meaningful. I wish people could always say what they want to without regarding the moral standrads by which we all must abide.

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