[58] The Force that Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower

The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees
Is my destroyer.
And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose
My youth is bent by the same wintry fever.

The force that drives the water through the rocks
Drives my red blood; that dries the mouthing streams
Turns mine to wax.
And I am dumb to mouth unto my veins
How at the mountain spring the same mouth sucks.

The hand that whirls the water in the pool
Stirs the quicksand; that ropes the blowing wind
Hauls my shroud sail.
And I am dumb to tell the hanging man
How of my clay is made the hangman's lime.

The lips of time leech to the fountain head;
Love drips and gathers, but the fallen blood
Shall calm her sores.
And I am dumb to tell a weather's wind
How time has ticked a heaven round the stars.

And I am dumb to tell the lover's tomb
How at my sheet goes the same crooked worm.

  	-- Dylan Thomas

Few poets manage to be simultaneously as lyrical and as powerful as Dylan
Thomas. The poem above is a perfect example - images are stark, yet with a
compelling beauty that both attracts and chills the reader. This poem did
take me a while to appreciate, but it is definitely one of those that
improve with rereading. The insistent rhythm, the reinforcing of images and
the repetitive construction all combine to stick it in the reader's mind, in
a manner characteristic of Thomas.

Note, in passing, the thematic similarity to 'Do Not Go Gentle'.

m.

From: Martin Julian DeMello <martindemello@>

There's a line-by-line analysis of the poem at
http://www.gale.com/freresrc/poets_cn/forcegfd.htm

m.

From: Sweetie1530@

THe bottom of the page you wrote says that there is a line by line anaylsis 
of the poem 
The Force that Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower 

    I tried to click the link and it did not open.  Can you help me?  Please 
write back ASAP for I need the anaylsis for a paper. 
thank you, 
sarah Sweetie1530@

From: Martin DeMello <martindemello@>

--- Sweetie1530@ wrote:
> The bottom of the page you wrote says that there is a line by line anaylsis 
> of the poem  The Force that Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower 
>
> I tried to click the link and it did not open.  Can you help me?  Please 
> write back ASAP for I need the anaylsis for a paper. 

http://www.gale.com/free_resources/poets/poems/force_ex.htm

martin

From: "Jeffrey Custer" <jcuster@>

Thank you. You just helped me get an actually decent grade in english i
hope.  Shes a bitch and fails all my writtings. YOU RULE MAN.

From: BRYARNO@

omg thanks so mch 4 tht link i dont get the poem at all n had 2 write an  
alevel essay on it. thanks so mch now i rekon i mite not fail it :D