Joseph Campbell treats each line as a small speech, and he uses one here to insist that his bundle of verse is not a book but a journey. The speaker pictures himself as a pedlar moving through mountainy places, always in sight of the sea and open fields, with a rough wind blowing over the miles behind him. There is a proud, restless energy in that claim. He doesn’t want the poems to sit still on a shelf or feel like a closed object. Instead, he presents them as something walked through, felt, and weathered — full of movement, salt air, and open distance. The mood is airy and free, a little rugged, and it asks the reader to experience the work as travelling terrain rather than as fixed pages.
A Line's a Speech — Summary
A line's a speech; So here's a line To say this pedlar's pack Of mine Is not a book-- But a journey thro' Mountainy places, Ever in view Of the sea and the fields, With the rough wind Blowing over the leagues Behind!