For A Poet

Song Meaning

The narrator has carefully set aside their aspirations, treating them with preciousness and distance. These aren't just tucked away; they're "wrapped in a silken cloth" and placed in a "box of gold," suggesting a deliberate act of preservation and perhaps a sense of their inherent value. This imagery evokes a feeling of both reverence and a quiet resignation, as if the dreams are too delicate or too important to expose to the harshness of the world. There's a palpable tension between the desire to protect these dreams and the implication that they are no longer actively pursued. The line "Where long will cling the lips of the moth" introduces a subtle decay, a hint that even in their gilded confinement, the dreams are subject to time and the elements. This contrasts sharply with the narrator's assertion of not harboring hate or anger, presenting a facade of calm detachment despite the potential erosion of their deepest hopes. The repetition of "I have wrapped my dreams in a silken cloth, / And laid them away in a box of gold" acts as a refrain, reinforcing the central action and the narrator's current state. It’s a meticulous, almost ritualistic, act of shelving ambition. The phrase "earth's breath so keen and cold" reveals the likely reason for this withdrawal – a perceived hostility or indifference from the external world that made pursuing those dreams feel untenable. Ultimately, the lyrics paint a picture of someone who has chosen a path of quiet containment over active pursuit, finding a fragile peace in safeguarding what might have been. The effectiveness lies in the stark contrast between the luxurious preservation of dreams and the chilling reason for their abandonment, leaving the listener to ponder the cost of such protective measures.