"A Murmur in the Trees – to note – / Not loud enough – for Wind –"
These are the opening lines of the poem. They efficiently set up the theme that the verse pursues. That theme is the wonder and mystery hidden among the natural world around human beings. The speaker hears a sound in the trees that is loud enough to warrant attention. Because the sound is not loud enough to simply be a breeze vibrating among the branches and leaves, it immediately creates a sense of mystery and even, perhaps, magic.
"A Hurrying Home of little Men / To Houses unperceived –"
That sense of the possibility of magic is directly addressed in these opening lines of the third stanza. The reference to "little men" is purposely vague. The intent is to create in the reader a sense of the fantastical existing simultaneously with the rational world. The historical context of this poem situates it as a reaction against the mechanistic beliefs of the Industrial Revolution. The idea of creatures of fantasy still calling the natural world of the forest home even at the dawn of the modern age of machinery was a popular one among writers and artists of this era. The poem is a reaction against rationality and logic taking hold at the sacrifice of mystery and imagination.
"So go your Way – and I’ll go Mine – / No fear you’ll miss the Road."
These are the final lines of the poem. The speaker is directly addressing not just the reader but the entire concept of the shift in the modern world toward rationality. She tells the reader that they can dismiss the idea of an enchanted secret world and keep to the path of logical dismissal of magic. In doing so, they will never lose their way, but they will sacrifice adventure and appreciation of hidden wonders. She, however, will also keep to her way of going off the beaten path to explore things not easily discovered because their existence defies logic.
