what's this poem mean?

Question

by richard wilbur

In a Smoking Car
The eyelids meet. He'll catch a little nap.
The grizzled, crew-cut head drops to his chest.
It shakes above the briefcase on his lap.
Close voices breathe, "Poor sweet, he did his best."

"Poor sweet, poor sweet," the bird-hushed glades repeat,
Through which in quiet pomp his litter goes,
Carried by native girls with naked feet.
A sighing stream concurs in his repose.

Could he but think, he might recall to mind
The righteous mutiny or sudden gale
That beached him here; the dear ones left behind . . .
So near the ending, he forgets the tale.

Were he to lift his eyelids now, he might
Behold his maiden porters, brown and bare.
But even here he has no appetite.
It is enough to know that they are there.

Enough that now a honeyed music swells,
The gentle, mossed declivities begin,
And the whole air is full of flower-smells.
Failure, the longed-for valley, takes him in.

just tell me the basic meaning =)

i really have no clue, so if you could just say a sentence or two... thanks!

Answer 1

The title is "In the Smoking Car". A smoking car is the car on the train in which people are allowed to smoke. This business man, probably a traveling salesman, has somehow failed in his business dealings. He falls asleep on the train and in his dream to the clackety-clackety sounds of "poor sweet" he finds himself carried by native girls. The dream seems to comfort him and allows him to accept his failure.

I don't see any evidence that he has died, that he has committed suicide in the poem.

Answer 2

He died and was carried off to heaven by lovely young maidens. The longed for valley is the valley of death of the 23rd psalm. I'm not a professional poetry critic, but that is what I make of it. The beauty of poetry is that it does not speak as if it were merely relating facts like a news report but in imagery that leaves you with a sense of contemplation and inspiration.

Answer 3

I think this poem is about a business man who is riding in a rickshaw Carried by native girls - Behold his maiden porters, brown and bare. But he doesn't really notice any of this because he has failed in whatever business he was involved in. He closes his eyes and leans over his briefcase.

Answer 4

It means I need some Advil. This poem gives me a headache. Why can't poets just say what they mean instead of rambling on about things that make no sense?

Answer 5

Why do you need to know the meaning of this poem? Seem's out-of-date. The vocabulary tthat the author uses is is like in the 60's. I don't think this is an elegant poem. I woundn't spend time trying to figure it out.

Answer 6

Just a glimpse of life and using rare words describing a schizoid perspective.

Answer 7

This is a Cell Phone though u find all the things in Cell phones

Answer 8

Guys riding on a train, falling asleep, & having a wet dream.

Answer 9

It speaks of a man who commited suicide and goes to "heaven".

Answer 10

what do you mean what does it mean, it means something a little different for everyone.