In youth my wings were strong and
tireless,
but I did not know the mountains.
In age I knew the mountains
But my weary wings could not follow my vision
Genius is wisdom and youth.
(E.L. Masters, Spoon River Anthology, 1915)
Alexander Throckmorton is one of the
protagonists of Edgar Lee Masters’ collection of poems Spoon River Anthology.
Each poem tells the story of one of Spoon River’s citizens. All the
protagonists, now dead, confess their desires,
ambitions and, above all, their regrets.
The poem, composed by five free lines, is
written in the first person. In the first line Alexander describes life
as a flight whose destination is the “mountains”. These mountains stand for
knowledge and experience. Instead, the “wings”,
which makes him able to fly, symbolise dreams, ambitions, desires, energy, and
freedom.
