The Rescue

by Robert Creeley

The title of the poem seems to set a frame for the content of the poem. The poem heavily repeats the word time, some times in the form of the word "timelessness" as if to emphasize the importance of the concept. The idea of a rescue fits well with the poets emphasis on time because a rescue depends on having enough time to be carried out. The exhaustive repetition of "time" also gives a sense of urgency to the reader as if the man on the horse described may not have enough time. Another connection that the author makes with the concept of the flowing of time is with sand. Robert Creeley reworked the cliché phrase "The Sands of Time" into his entire poem by creating the image of a man on a horse running through a vast sandy desert (the image of vastness comes from his description of the sand as "timeless"). By the end of the poem, the man and horse and wind who have become synonymous with the flow of time, are described as burning as well as a house in the distance. This seems to signify the time that is being lost as in a more literal sense a house in the distance is burning down. Time is running out and they are running to arrive in time.