hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

Question

What do you guys feel is the meaning of "Gathering Leaves" by Robert Frost?

Answer 1

Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.

I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.

But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.

I may load and unload
Again and again
Till I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grew duller
From contact with earth,
Next to nothing for color.

Next to nothing for use.
But a crop is a crop,
And who's to say where
The harvest shall stop?


This poem reminder about the things that are really important in life. It is about a man obsessed with “leaves”, which I interpret as superficial possessions and shallow acquaintances. He spends all day collecting them just to end up with next to nothing. “I may load and unload again and again till I fill the whole shed and what have I then” (Frost 13-16). In this passage it really shows his futile efforts to obtain something significant. He also talks about when he tries to pick up the leaves and they just fall right through his arms and back to the ground. This could represent when you actually try to depend on them they fall through and you are left high and dry."

Answer 2

So refreshing to hear that people are still reading quality books as Robert Frost. Awesome poem!