Lola Ridge imagines standing in a high place with someone she cares about—or wishes were there. Up above the valleys, the wind feels newly washed; it has left all the dust and clutter of lower places behind. That physical altitude becomes an emotional one. In this thin, bright air, pain doesn’t disappear, but it grows faint, like the far-off hum of insects. Anger turns small, then sinks quietly into a larger silence. The speaker isn’t exactly content; there’s a wistful, wondering tone, a longing for a shared peace that may not exist yet. The mood is calm and slightly lonely—clear, spacious, and almost breathless, as if all the noise of ordinary life has dropped away and only the wanting remains.
Altitude — Summary
I wonder how it would be here with you, where the wind that has shaken off its dust in low valleys touches one cleanly, as with a new-washed hand, and pain is as the remote hunger of droning things, and anger but a little silence sinking into the great silence.