The Moose

The landscapes described in the narrative of the poem are not merely locations but also representations of the broader experiences of life. The beginning of the poem roots the speaker at home, in a place of warmth, comfort, and familiarity. The discussion of the tides and rivers is delivered through a haze of nostalgia. As the bus journey begins, the descriptions are less specific. The speaker picks out the familiar in the areas immediately surrounding their home—“clapboard farmhouses” (Line 21) and “churches” (Line 22), “white hens’ feathers” (Line 45), “whitewashed fences” (Line 51)—to connect to these new places. Then, there is the ambiguous Line 61, “A pale flickering. Gone.” It is both the sun and the grounding feeling of being home that are gone as the speaker moves into the marshy terrain of the next province.

The river further divides the journey, though the speaker still knows which way points home. In fact, the boat in Stanza 12 points home, and the single bark of the dog reminds the speaker that home will always be there waiting like a loyal hound. Over the river, the atmosphere becomes dark and uncomfortable in the New Brunswick woods. The scenery is “hairy, scratchy, splintery” (Line 81), and the speaker seeks solace in “a gentle, auditory, / slow hallucination…” (Lines 89-90) of the conversations between people on the bus, the voices of whom remind the speaker of “Grandparents’ voices” (Line 96), another connection to home. The journey parallels the patterns of the journeys we often take in life. Though it might be uncomfortable and even frightening to leave home, many of the events we encounter along the way—like the moose—might be initially unnerving, but they are often “‘[p]erfectly harmless…’” (Line 144) and leave us with strong memories and life lessons to complete our journey with.