In “Idyll,” the speaker is a white birch tree describing an encounter with the wind. She had been calm and self-contained, but the invisible wind singled her out, kissed her, held her, and made her feel alive, as if sap and buds were rising in spring. She never saw his face, only felt his strength and heard his whispering. The title “Idyll” suggests a lovely brief romance, but the poem dwells on what that romance costs. Then, careless and restless, he moved on to fields and the sea, leaving her rooted in one place. The mood shifts from dreamy, sensual wonder to loneliness and regret. The final lines are especially painful: the tree says it would have been better for the wind to break her than to leave her standing there, unable to follow, with only the memory of that brief, transforming touch.
Idyll — Summary
Not the wise, quiet pine nor the amorous, blonde oak Nor the tall, pale, lady elm tree, But you, who came invisible in a magic cloak, You, who were the wind, chose me.
I, the white little birch, who had stood alone, serene, Content to listen and to stare — And I never saw your hands that tore my veils of green. Nor your lips that laughed in my hair.
You held me and kissed me, I knew your strength and grace And dreams rose like sap in the spring. I trembled as with buds, but I never saw your face, I only heard you whispering.
So yawning and careless you went on to field and sea, So here I am lonely and still — Oh wind, wind, better to have broken me Than leave me with roots in the hill.