# One Morning explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

The narrator, weak and ill, laments their inability to meet their beloved, watching time pass until the appointed hour. They express despair and longing, insisting that until they see their love's face, it remains night.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Communication

The poem centers on the narrator's love and longing for their beloved, and the pain of separation and failed communication.

### Mortality and Regret

The narrator's weakness and illness, along with the imagery of time and despair, evoke themes of mortality and regret.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker, who is weak and ill, waiting for their beloved.

### Estee

The beloved, addressed as 'my love' and 'lady,' whose arrival is awaited.

## Key lines

> Because that I am weak, my love, and ill I cannot follow the impatient feet Of my desire

Because I am weak and sick, my love, I cannot chase after my urgent longing.

_The narrator explains their physical inability to meet their beloved._

> The tryst is broken on the gusty hill!

Our meeting is ruined on the windy hill.

_The planned rendezvous has been disrupted._

> For lo! despair has darkened all the light, And till I see your face it still is night.

For see, despair has extinguished all light, and until I see your face, it remains night.

_The narrator's despair makes everything dark until they are reunited with their beloved._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/one-morning
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters