The poet talks about the dreams of a boy and indirectly talks about the various stages of life. Everything is said with a doubt using the word “IF”
In the First stanza, he says that if he could climb the tree then he would see the foreign lands. In this line, he talks the ambition of a child who wants to see foreign places. After that, he climbs the tree and sees how the garden in the next door is decorated with beautiful flowers and how he could see far off places
II stage of his life he would have grown-up and had gone on long trips. During this time he sees river and he personifies the river as “dimpling river” and also uses the river as a metaphor that is, it is the looking-glass for the sky. This line explains the youthfulness and vigour of the poet. He also sees various kinds of life by stating that he had seen “dusty roads” curving up and down and many people are walking with heavy sound because of the load they are carrying.
III Stage of his life is stated that if he could climb a higher tree, he would have seen the matured river getting mingled with the mighty ocean where the ships are floating. He would have seen the road leading to the fairy land where the children would have completed their dinner at five and would have played with the play things that had come alive.
Last stanza explains the thought that every human being after becoming matured will again go into the period of childhood.
