Wagoner's Tumbleweed: An Analysis The central theme of the poem “Tumbleweed” by David Wagoner is a tumbleweed that bounces from one place to the next. It is buffeted by the wind, and it ends up stuck on a fence from which it is rescued by the poet to continue its way. In the first stanza, the poet tells us that the tumbleweed, which is a metaphor for himself has been through. “Tilting lopsided, bouncing end over end.” This tells us how the tumbleweed falls. This shows the chaos that the poet feels. The poet feels like he is bouncing from place to place end over end. “Springing from the puffs of its own dust.” This suggests