If I Could Tell You

The poem’s speaker returns repeatedly to the thematic dilemma that it is seemingly impossible to discern or construct meaning from the human experience. The poem immediately states that the passage of Time will reveal nothing in and of itself, as “Time will say nothing but I told you so” (Line 1). Time’s response of “I told you so” represents both a sense of inevitability and a lack of differentiation of outcome between experiences, be they good or bad. Instead, the speaker claims, “Time only knows the price we have to pay” (Line 2), suggesting that the only knowledge humans gain over time is what “price,” or outcome, they face through the actions and events of their lives. Because Time’s only response is “I told you so” regardless of what happens to a person, the speaker implies that humans will never discover an inherent, underlying meaning that gives a sense of purpose to what they do or to what happens to them, condemning humans to a life of general ignorance and helplessness.

The impossibility of discerning meaning also extends to the natural world around all living creatures. In the poem’s fourth stanza, the speaker wonders if there is a hidden meaning or purpose behind the cycles of the natural world and the phenomena that exist within it.