# The Sun-Dial at Wells College explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Henry van Dyke Jr..

## What happens

A meditation on time and the present moment, using the image of a sun-dial's shadow to divide the future from the past. The poem emphasizes that only the present hour is within one's power.

## Themes in this chapter

### The Pilgrimage of Life

The poem reflects on the passage of time and the importance of the present moment in life's journey.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker reflects on the nature of time and the present moment.

## Key lines

> The shadow by my finger cast Divides the future from the past: Before it, sleeps the unborn hour, In darkness, and beyond thy power: Behind its unreturning line, The vanished hour, no longer thine: One hour alone is in thy hands⁠— The now on which the shadow stands.

The shadow cast by the sun-dial's finger separates the future from the past. The future is unknown and beyond control; the past is gone and cannot be reclaimed. Only the present moment is yours to act upon.

_The poem uses the sun-dial as a metaphor for the fleeting nature of time and the power of the present._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_10_se/chapters/the-sun-dial-at-wells-college
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_10_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_10_se/chapters