John Clare's 'I AM'

I long for scenes where man has never trod;
A place where woman never smil’d or wept;
There to abide with my creator, God,
And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept:
Untroubling and untroubled where I lie;
The grass below–above the vaulted sky.
(JOHN CLARE – 'I AM')

What beautiful thought have been presented in these lines! They have been one of my long treasured poetic stanzas. The lines have a picturesque beauty – “the scene where man has never trod”. The phrase brings to mind a place that has, hitherto, not been polluted by human existence. There does not exist the eternal trouble maker, that is, sorrow nor is there anything to make you smile. There is a perfectly balanced living. The other interpretation can be linked to the first line itself, simply talking about the loneliness of the place, a place that has not witnessed the coming of a woman (to suggest human being only, he mentions both man and woman).
A longing to stay as undisturbed as in childhood has been expressed by the poet. In addition to this the poet mentions the words – ‘untroubling’ and ‘untroubled’ – to suggest that the child neither troubles anyone nor is himself troubled by the innumerable sorrows and tensions of life. A picture perfect scene has been presented through the line “the grass below – above the vaulted sky”. A heavenly place to be in!
The other interpretation of these lines can be taken to mean the reference to the heaven where man goes after his death. Neither sorrow nor happiness affects him anymore. Man can enjoy as he did in childhood, ‘untroubling and untroubled.’
The message we should derive from these lines is that of saving our environment, an environment that has man has been continuously polluting. Things have come to such a pass that a reversal is not possible. Let us make efforts to control the present situation from worsening at the most. Remember every drop counts. Let’s begin right now! Let’s make every place on this Earth a heavenly place to live in!

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