Dawn breaks behind the eyes;
From poles of skull and toe the windy blood
Slides like a sea;
Nor fenced, nor staked, the gushers of the sky
Spout to the rod
Divining in a smile the oil of tears." - Meaning and context.">
Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines, st. 1 (1934), st. 3

Dawn breaks behind the eyes;
From poles of skull and toe the windy blood
Slides like a sea;
Nor fenced, nor staked, the gushers of the sky
Spout to the rod
Divining in a smile the oil of tears.

— Dylan Thomas

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Dawn breaks behind the eyes;
From poles of skull and toe the windy blood
Slides like a sea;
Nor fenced, nor staked, the gushers of the sky
Spout to the rod
Divining in a smile the oil of tears." in the context of "Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines, st. 1 (1934), st. 3" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Dylan Thomas" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Dylan Thomas

About Dylan Thomas

Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer.