please help get the meaning of this short poem?

Question

I walked in a desert.
And I cried,
"Ah, God, take me from this place!"
A voice said, "It is no desert."
I cried, "Well, But --
The sand, the heat, the vacant horizon."
A voice said, "It is no desert."



thats the poem, and i need to know the meaning of this poem, could someone help me out? thanx alot

it was Steven Crane who wrote it. and i didnt gave u a thumbs down it was someone else ( i wonder why O_O)

Answer 1

I found the following webpage:

http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/stephencrane/11846/comments

I think Brian's comments (second responder from the bottom) are probably the ones I agree with the most.

Another piece of literature that expresses a similar idea to Brian's interpretation is Plato's "allegory of the cave", here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_cave

Reality is what you perceive it to be. You are a prisoner of your own mind.

Answer 2

The protagonist is more than likely in hell. He is talking to God and if there was a random voice, good chances are it was God or perhaps even the Devil who was speaking to him. I am interested as to who wrote this poem.