If the "Iraqi" in the poem is regarded as a lover, then this poem shows the melancholy mood of the lyric hero's persistent pursuit of good love. The spirit is precious and the feelings are sincere, but the result is slim and the situation is sad.
But the most valuable and striking thing about this poem is the artistic conception of "being on the water side" created by him, which has universal significance. Artistic conception is a pattern and a structure, which has the performance of containing all heterogeneous things with similar patterns and structures. The structure of On the Water is: chasing troops-rivers-Iraqis. Because the "Iraqi people" in the poem has no specific reference, and the meaning of the river lies in the barrier, all the pursuits that are difficult to achieve because of being blocked in the world can be isomorphic and resonate here.
From this point of view, we might as well understand Jane's poems as a symbol and take On the Water as an artistic paradigm to express all the difficulties in social life. The "Iraqis" here can be talents, friends, lovers, achievements, ideals, prospects, and even blessed land, holy land and heaven; The "river" here can be high mountains and deep valleys, patriarchal clan system and ethics, or any other obstacles that may be encountered in real life. As long as there are pursuits, obstacles and disappointments, it is the world that it reproduces and expresses. In this way, the ancients interpreted it as persuading people to follow the etiquette, accepting talents and caring for others. Today, people regard it as a love poem, and some even regard it as a ritual of ancestor worship by the ancient water god. I'm afraid there is some truth. It seems inappropriate to stick to one family and exclude others, because they are all included in the symbolic meaning of "on the water side"