I see this villanelle by W.H.Auden as a triumph of form over substance where the virtuosity of rhythm and rhyme scheme lend the poem a gnomic quality that suggests a profundity of thought which proves rather elusive on close inspection. ‘The winds must come from somewhere when they blow’ is on the one hand a line that I find quite haunting but on the other hand is uncontroversial to the point of banality and doesn’t get you very far on the meteorological front. ‘Perhaps the roses really want to grow’ – perhaps, but it seems doubtful that volition as we understand it comes into it, it’s just what roses do. ‘Suppose all the lions get up and go’ – hang on, what lions? go where?

I take it that the poet is expressing a frustration at the unknowability of the future, which may reflect the state of things when the poem first appeared in 1940, soon after the outbreak of World War II, and that this frustration is compounded by his inability to communicate his feelings for another person. But perhaps it is best not to strive too hard for a literal meaning in this poem, but instead to view it as a rather beautiful poetic Rorschach test that lets you project on to it your own meanings and emotions.

If I Could Tell You

Time will say nothing but I told you so,
Time only knows the price we have to pay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.

If we should weep when clowns put on their show,
If we should stumble when musicians play,
Time will say nothing but I told you so.

There are no fortunes to be told, although,
Because I love you more than I can say,
If I could tell you I would let you know.

The winds must come from somewhere when they blow,
There must be reasons why the leaves decay;
Time will say nothing but I told you so.

Perhaps the roses really want to grow,
The vision seriously intends to stay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.

Suppose all the lions get up and go,
And all the brooks and soldiers run away;
Will Time say nothing but I told you so?
If I could tell you I would let you know.

W.H.Auden