‘Poet,
Lover, Birdwatcher’ is a popular poem, much anthologized and studied. It
embodies the poet’s search for a poetics, which would help him redeem himself
in his eyes and in the eyes of God. The message of the poem is clear, ‘The best poets wait for words’: the
best poets begin to write poetry only when they are truly inspired or when they
experience a moment of illumination or enlightenment, only then do the right
poetic words come to them. This waiting is not so simple. The poet cannot while
away his time, but like the careful birdwatcher, has to remain ever
alert. The gift of poetry comes at
the cost of eternal vigil. The poets have to remain poised in that state
of tension. ‘To force the pace’ is to compel oneself to make haste. ‘Never to
be still’ is never to remain motionless, but to be always on the move. ‘Or
women’ are of those who study women and those who pursue the women they love,
it is not only require a lot of patience but also forbearance capacity to bear
undetermined time.
‘The hunt’ is the search for birds or the desire to win a woman’s heart, it require patience. It is highly pain taking job. In case of love person has to wait until the reply of the woman. Those do not have that much capability they could not become successful in their love that must understand. Through this poem the poet is conveying the idea of poem, love and hunt which require similar things which are earlier mentioned. ‘
