I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.

DH Lawrence

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This is one of my favorite poems.

The first time I heard it was in the movie GI Jane (which I saw today …again) but I was too young to actually listen to its meaning and appreciate it. After growing up and learning to appreciate these things, I read many poems by DH Lawrence. I also read two full biographies.

In this poem, Lawrence talks about how human beings have the greatest ability of self pity. Perhaps even more than most animals. Animals live each moment, unlike humans who are constantly thinking about the past and stress about the future. DH Lawrence himself was ill most of his life and he never felt sorry for himself. The only thing he feared was not being able to work, and this is exactly what kept him alive. He was close to dying many times- finally he died of TB. He hated the thought of self-pity.

I like how he mentions wild things in the first verse, then in the second verse he reaches out to something so vulnerable- a small bird.

Some people believe that the human is the only creature aware of its own mortality. The feeling of regret- regret over things we have done and the things that we didn’t do, is what fills us with anguish ans self pity sometimes. I think Lawrence liked and envied the fact that little birds lack these feelings.

Great poem…. it’s funny how this short poem can hold so much meaning.