"Birches," by Robert Frost, is an archetypical example of a Frost poem. Frost's poems are normally characterized by beautifully evocative descriptions of nature that form a very clear picture in the reader's mind. On first reading, many of his poems seem to be just a portrayal of events that occur in nature. However, there is normally another deeper meaning to the poem, mostly relating to the human condition. "Birches" seems at first reading to be a description of how a line of birch trees becomes bent and bowed due to natures intervention, and then describes how Frost would rather have the trees becoming bent due to a little boy playing on them. Looking deeper into the meaning of the poem, Frost seems to be praising the resilience of the birch trees and also he describes how the young boy learns to amuse himself while he grows up.
             The first part of the poem describes what has actually happened to the trees, how they look and what caused the current bent over appearance. The birch trees have become bent over because of ice that has formed on the branches and leaves, which have, over a period of several years caused the trees to bend over. Frost describes how after rain has fallen on a winter's day, ice forms on the branches, pulling them down with the weight of it. As the sun rises and warms the air, a breeze picks up which causes the ice to fall off the boughs and gather under the trees as if part of heavens dome had fallen to earth. This section of the poem is typical of Frost's vivid description of nature that he does so well in many of his poems.
             Frost does not seem to like this actual, colder version of the "Truth." He would much rather the trees have reached their present bent over state because of the play of a young boy living on a farm. The boy lived too far from town to play sports with anyone, so he would have had to play by himself, making his own fun. This would seem to be a reflection on Frosts own N
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