Stanza 1

In "Morning Walk," an unnamed speaker describes her observations of the natural and human-made world as she takes a morning stroll. Throughout the poem, the speaker's observations of the awakening world inspire her thoughts on subjects such as death and time. The poem opens with a metaphor comparing the sky, glimpsed between buildings, to the ocean: "The white ocean in which birds swim / Between the chimneys." The whiteness of the sky may be due to clouds, smoke, or the early morning light, but the lack of color creates a mood of stillness and quietude.

The opening image leads directly to the strange question in lines 3—5: "Is it a dream / Beginning over again, or is it / The antiseptic other side of death?" The first part of the question leads the reader to believe that the speaker will question whether what she sees (the sky) is dream or...