Birches : summary

In the poem Birches by Robert Frost (1874-1963), the poet expresses his feelings about the birch tree. As he looks at the bent birch trees, he becomes lost in thought. The trees are bent like this due to the snowstorm. But he likes to think that some kids might have bent the tree while hanging.

The poet says that the readers must see the snow-covered birch trees. Dewdrops shine in the morning sunlight. The trees do not break under the weight of ice but bend. But the poet is reluctant to accept this bitter truth. He ignores reality, takes refuge in fantasy, and is quite comfortable with the idea of children hanging the trees. According to his imagination, the child often hangs like this on all the trees and bents the trees very skillfully. They know very well how to bend these trees without breaking them.

The poet then reveals that he, too, used to hang on trees like this as a child and wishes to do it again. Because today, he is tired of fulfilling the various responsibilities of life. He wants to go back to those carefree days of childhood. He wants to climb that tree again to experience heavenly bliss. Here, the poet basically takes refuge in imagination to get away from the fatigue, responsibilities, etc., of his life.