"Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul."
The poem has a motivational message, the poet was inspired by death and the poem could be seen as a motivation to prevent the thought of hopelessness and finality of death. This allusion to Bible verse is further following and strengthening the message of hope and purpose of life; even though the body turns to dust, the soul remains eternal.
"His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns what'er he can,
And looks the whole word in the face,
For he owes not any man."
The poem is dedicated to the honest and hardworking village blacksmith whose character could serve as a role model for balancing and honest working life with devotion to family and being a righteous member of the community.
"'Thus do I sing my merry song,
Wherever the four winds blow;
And this same song, my whole life long,
Neither Poet nor Printer may know.'"
This poem is an appreciation of nature, of its beauty that can never quite right be transferred onto the paper. The representative of the beauty of the nature is the personified bird whose merry song forever remains a mystery to the Poet and the Printer.
"Oh, when shall he, for whom I sigh in vain,
Beside me watch to see thy waking smile?"
This poem is about an alone mother whose love for her babe is unconditional. She watches it sleeping restlessly, afraid of any harm that might come to it. The baby's father has left them both and from this final verse we can say, he left them forever.
