With a running stream and a watermill beating the darkness, and three trees in the low sky.
As the Magi descend into the valley in the second stanza of “Journey of the Magi”, Eliot adds several Biblical allusions. First, the symbol of Jesus as the “living water” as depicted in John 4:10-14 is mirrored in the running stream. The wheels of the watermill are “beating the darkness” and we see an allusion to Jesus as the “light of the world” (John 8:12). In stark contrast to the life-giving details of water and light, we see the “three trees in the low sky”, a reference to both the Holy Trinity but also a foreshadow of the future crucifixion.
In this stanza, Eliot draws a parallel to his own “darkness to light.” After his self-imposed ten-year penance following his abandonment of Vivienne, Eliot married Valene Flecher, his secretary, in 1957. By all accounts, it was a happy marriage. After years of darkness, Eliot had come into the light.
Caring for a husband with both mental and physical issues was an exhausting, uphill battle. I longed for an easier life than I was living, a surcease from what was punishing work. I found refuge in places of running water; the beach if I could manage a day’s escape, or the river at the park if I only had an hour. Both places reminded me of the living water that is Jesus.
REFLECTION: Was there a special place that brought you solace and peace during a difficult journey?
