The illustration
is nothing to you without the application.
You lack half wit. You crush all the particles down
into close conformity, and then walk back and forth on them.
Sparkling chips of rock
are crushed down to the level of the parent block.
Were not 'impersonal judment in aesthetic
matters, a metaphysical impossibility,' you
might fairly achieve
it. As for butterflies, I can hardly conceive
of one's attending upon you, but to question
the congruence of the complement is vain, if it exists.
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Comments3I found this poem quite intriguing but also a bit confusing. Can someone help me understand what the steamroller symbolizes and how it relates to the overall meaning of the poem? Thanks!
"To a Steam Roller" is wonderfully thought-provoking.
It's quite a unique piece, isn't it? It really took me for a spin. I'm definitely seeing some powerful imagery around uniformity and repression, which made me ponder. And that comment on butterflies—so oddly quaint but thought-provoking! Challenging but worth the effort. Was scratching my head a lot though, lol.