The Rider

Speed is essential to “The Rider,” to the boy and speaker’s attempt to escape loneliness. The idea that loneliness can’t “catch up” (Line 3) to the boy introduces the importance of movement. In “The Rider,” loneliness is something that ensnares and entraps. If it catches up, the boy and speaker may be unable to outrace it. Therefore, speed is essential—for the boy, the speaker and by implication the reader; it allows one to outrun and escape.

In stanza three, the speaker questions whether the boy’s act can translate to bicycles. By “pedaling hard” (Line 7) the speaker achieves “victory” (Line 9). They cycle so fast that loneliness is left “panting behind” (Line 10), out of breath while the speaker “[floats] free” (Line 11). The boy and speaker need speed to escape loneliness; however, the pink azalea petals, being inhuman, can fall as slowly as they like.

Flowers represent many things in “The Rider,” but most prominently they stand for beauty and light. Up until they appear, Nye uses sparse imagery centered around loneliness and darkness. For example, the speaker cycles in the dark (“What I wonder tonight / pedaling hard down King William Street,” Lines 6-7).