Wat does this poem mean?

Passer-by





As the days grew dark


And as the winds returned,


In the night sky so gleaming,


A walk-just-was the desire





Saw a man poor, wretched


Nigh a lamp post in the dark.


Nothing was all that could be done.


As the eyes met, the passer-by passed by.


There was nothing but a desire for hope.





Saw a man of face familiar


Nigh a marshy field.


Nothing was all that could be done.


As the eyes met, the passer-by passed by.


There was nothing but a desire for friendship.





Saw a man - just a man


Nigh a green tree.


Nothing was all that could be done.


As the eyes met, the passer-by passed by.


There was nothing but a desire to be free from tears.





As every bird so had he to return


But something stopped him.


Cold fear ran down his blood,


Numb as a stone was he.





Then he heard a voice saying,


"Let him go for myriad are things


that his eyes will pass by."

Wat does this poem mean?
It about a lonely man who longed for friendship but but something inside of him is stopping him. So he let potential friend pass by. They look at him. Eye contact often mean they are interested. But he is too afraid to make the next move.
Reply:Sounds like winter's a brewin'
Reply:idk i didnt read it im just bored. Sorry.
Reply:The author went out for a walk one night in the fall or winter. He passed by 3 men, in need, with 3 different but universal needs: hope friendship and freedom from tears. As he turned to go home the author was chilled with the fear of recognizing himself in each of the men he had passed by. He recognized his own inability to reach out and meet these 3 needs in either his fellow man or in himself. His eyes/his heart was closed up and cold as stone as evidenced by his repeated conclusion: nothing was all that could be done. The voice that spoke to him was his own spirit of insight into the coldness of his heart.
Reply:A Mans recollection of moments that he passed bye in his own life as he is dieing and realises that, as an unknown stranger comforts him that he must now let go of his own.
Reply:Maybe it is saying that we are all ships that pass in the night etc,,,, but it could be deeper than that...It could be about self reflection...the men the passer by sees could be aspects of himself. He is afraid to face himself and to be himself.....the last stanza could indicate that there are many aspects to our experience of ourselves.