Life as a Journey

The first poem in the collection, “Parable,” establishes the collection’s overall thematic through-line – the idea of life as a journey. The characters in “Parable” do not physically move from one place to another, but the poem clearly suggests that because they have passed through time (i.e. aged) rather than through space (i.e. traveled), they have perhaps made a more significant journey than if they had simply changed location. This lays the foundation for the idea that simply living life is perhaps the only real journey that can, or will ever, make a difference in a human life.

The reasons why the would-be travelers actually do not travel are thematically relevant to the particular poem in question. Specifically, the fact that they cannot agree on whether they should have a stated purpose, or what that purpose might be, suggests that the...