The speaker prefers to think the birches have been bent by
boys instead of ice storms because, first of all, boys do not do permanent damage to the
trees to the extent that ice storms do. In lines 4 and 5, the speaker
says,
"...swinging doesn't bend them down to
stay
Icestorms do
that."
Even more than this,
however, the speaker likes to think boys have bent the birches because he used to do so
himself, and he recalls what a valuable experience it is for a young boy to be able to
climb to the very top of a birch and let himself down. Being able to engage in such an
activity can provide a lonely boy an outlet for his energies, and allow him to keep
himself interested and occupied in the absence of friends. In lines 24-27, the speaker
says,
"I
should prefer to have some boy bend themAs he went out and
in to fetch the cows -Some boy too far from town to learn
baseball,Whose only play was what he found
himself."
Although the
speaker does not directly state it, it is implied that, when he was a boy, he was
isolated from the company of others his own age, and found companionship and play in the
birches instead.
In the extended metaphor in lines 41-49,
the speaker compares the action of the boy's play with the birches to a wider concept of
life. The boy climbs the birch tree, and when he is at the top, he feels separated from
the earth, high above it. By shifting his weight, he can get the tree to slowly bend and
bring him back to earth when he is ready. The speaker likens this experience to being
able to escape from earth temporarily, when he would
"...like to get away from earth
awhile
And then come back to it and begin over" (lines
48-49).
Climbing to the top
of the birches offers one the chance to "get away from it all" for a bit, allowing for a
period of rest and renewal before getting on with the sometimes difficult business of
life.
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