A Comparison of “Traveling through the Dark” and “Abstract (Psychopomp)”

“Traveling through the Dark” by William E. Stafford and “Abstract (Psychopomp)” from Hozier's most recent album, Unreal Unearth, investigate the experience of comforting a dying animal after it has been run over and eventually guiding it into death. Both pieces employ imagery of light and darkness to emphasize the contrast between life and death, as well as poignant diction to illustrate the speakers’ emotions against the larger theme of man’s devastation of nature.

Hozier's Unreal Unearth album cover and a stock image.

The poem and song each take place during night, on the side of the road. The imagery of the works depict a similar setting. Hozier describes, “I remember the view, streetlights in the dark blue,” while Stafford illustrates, “traveling through the dark, I found a deer [...] I stood in the glare of the warm exhaust turning red.” In both works, the light of the streets and cars serve to contrast the darkness of the night, which can be interpreted as a struggle between what is man-made and the natural world. Afterall, man’s creation and his recklessness– his interference in the natural world– killed these creatures. The theme of man’s ruination of nature is thus a prevalent theme in these two works. They are further similar in story: both speakers are in the midst of comforting a fatally injured animal throughout the pieces. The imagery of the suffering animals is strong in both poems, indicating the significant emotional effect it has on the speaker. In “Traveling through the Dark,” Stafford describes how the deer “had stiffened already, almost cold.” The use of the word “almost” demonstrates that the deer is still alive, conscious of its suffering and the presence of the speaker, which explains the speaker’s compassion for it in this brief moment. Similarly, in his song, Hozier illustrates how the animal is close to death but not yet dead. He describes the animal: “The poor thing in the road, its eyes still glistening.” Like in the poem, the animal in the song is close to death but it is “still” alive. The fact that the animal is still alive drives the speaker to pay attention to it instead of continuing down the road and urges them to provide it with the comfort of connection in death. 

Both works display a deep connection between the speaker and the animal, as well as the relationship between life and death. They are each characterized by a moment when the speaker identifies something in the animal which creates an emotional bond. In the “Abstract (Psychopomp),” the speaker relates, “Your tear caught the light.” They perceive that the animal is crying, which moves them emotionally and allows them to understand its pain as something more than animal. In “Traveling through the Dark”, the speaker’s perception of the deer is equally emotional. The speaker touches the belly of the deer, creating an intimate moment between human and animal. They feel sympathy for the deer and its unborn baby, lamenting how it will never have the chance to live. A similarly bridging moment occurs in the song, when Hozier sings “The creature still moving, that slowed in your arms.” In both pieces, the speaker, or, in Hozier’s case, the person whom he addresses, physically touches the dying animal. This gesture reveals a relationship that is abnormal between wild animals and humans but feels perfectly natural in the moment of death. In the poem, life and death are put in opposition with the cold of the deer’s body and the warmth of its belly, while, in the song, the “cold wet” of the animal’s nose contrasts the streetlight and the speaker’s warmth for their liver. In both works, the speaker themself represents life, while the animal symbolizes death. The interconnectedness between life and death demonstrates how the latter is a natural consequence of the former and one that is accepted even if it requires a certain degree of coaxing. 

 Further, both speakers recognize the need for comfort before death that is universal beyond the boundaries of species. Effectively, they act as angels for the dying animals, easing them into death. The title of Hozier’s song carries an especially significant meaning to the bridge between life and death. The word “(Psychopomp)” in the title comes from the Ancient Greek word ψυχοπομπός, which translates to “guide of breath” or “guide of souls.” In Greek mythology, these guides of souls escort the dying from Earth to the afterlife. In Stafford’s poem, the notion of psychopomp is demonstrated when the speaker pushes the deer into the river, into the afterlife so it does not suffer a more gruesome death in the canyon where most people would have pushed it into. Both speakers are psychopomps, easing the animals to the realm of death because they empathize with them, seeing them for more than roadkill. 

However, the poem and song differ in the way each speaker narrates their story. The speaker in the song directly expresses their sympathy for the animal, utilizing the word “poor” to describe the animal and admitting that, in the moment of its death, they felt “no choice but to love” it. Moreover, the song switches from the speaker's description of the scene to a direct address to the animal, which serves as a metaphor for a past lover, to an indirect, impersonal address signaling a common experience between the lovers. The speaker’s metaphorical lover further advances the notion of man’s blunder, where, just as the animal is run over by a car, the speaker has ruined a relationship because of their carelessness. The speaker of the poem, though not as evidently, nonetheless expresses notable emotion toward the death that they have come upon. Stafford describes how the condition of the deer affects the speaker, writing, “Beside that mountain road I hesitated [...] I thought hard for us all– my only swerving.” Upon the discovery of the deer’s pregnant belly, the speaker is moved by grief and shock and refers to the deer, its baby and themself as “us,” signaling the bond that is formed between the pregnant deer and the speaker in their mind. The “swerving” that Stafford evokes is the act of avoiding death, like the swerving of a car when an animal is in the way, the prudence of man toward nature. Thus, the poet evinces the speaker’s wish to prevent death for the animal as they confront the situation, their futile and idealistic thoughts of saving the animal. The works illustrate a human reaction to the death of an innocent animal, and how only once something is utterly destroyed and exhibited does man react to his failure.

Lastly, the pieces are told in a future separate from the events that are recounted, which remain the past, in the thoughts of the speakers. The works thus present the speakers’ memories of their brief connection to the dying animals in their last moments. In “Abstract (Psychopomp),” Hozier emphasizes the importance of the memory for the speaker, how it is a part of him. He voices, “Darling, there’s a part of me/ I’m afraid will always be/ Trapped within an abstract of a moment of my life.” Hozier describes how the speaker remembers this moment as a significant episode in their life, shaping their relationship with death and romantic relationships. On the other hand, in “Travelling in the Dark,” though the ending is unexpected, it is evident that the event leaves a lasting impression on the speaker because of the way that they reflect on the moment in the poem. Both pieces recount memories of brief and indelible connections between man and nature.

The speakers are helpless and cannot undo the destruction of man, only comfort the ruined animals, acting as their angels of death. Through their heart-rending tales, diction, and imagery, “Traveling through the Dark” and “Abstract (Psychopomp)” reflect the passage of life into death and a healing wound between man and what he has callously destroyed.