Bryant's lyrical poem "To a Waterfowl" operates as an extended metaphor, as the bird is meant to represent humans. As the bird journeys through threats of danger, weary but persevering to that secure rest, we as readers are called to consider our own earthly paths through life. The waterfowl knows its destination will provide safety among his fellow birds, and respite from flight, reflecting the author's belief in a peaceful and tranquil afterlife, reunited with loved ones after a temporal life fraught with trial and tribulation. The last two stanzas indicate that the speaker reaches a spiritual understanding regarding the bird's navigational pattern and his own personal choices. "He", referencing God, guides both the bird and the speaker through their relative travels. Therefore, the images of rest, fellowship and shelter inspire not only the bird to reach his migratory destination, but that those same images call us to remain constant and dedicated in our earthly lives, and at the end we will be called to heavenly rest, fellowship and shelter
