And would it have been worth it, after all, Would it have been worth while, After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets, After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor— And this, and so much more?— It is impossible to say just what I mean! But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen: Would it have been worth while If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl, And turning toward the window, should say: “That is not it at all, That is not what I meant, at all.”
1.) In this stanza, he is wondering if, in the end, trying to fix and clarify what was said, will be worth it. He is wondering if it would be worth it to try and fix something that might only end in nothing changing and things remaining the way they are.