Symbol Analysis
Well, it's only natural that a poem about death would have something to say about going away forever, right? Yep, that makes sense. Sure enough, everywhere you turn in this poem, the speaker seems to be saying something about going away, leaving, or not being around anymore. Clearly, going away is the poem's metaphor for death. Yeah we know it sort of sounds like something you would tell a 5 year old ("sorry Timmy, but your turtle has left forever now"), but the reality is death is scary, and sometimes talking about it in that way can actually make it seem a little less frightening.
- Lines 1-2: In the first two lines the speaker says "gone away" and "gone far away." Clearly this is a metaphor for death. Now, the speaker never really says she will be gone forever, so the metaphor makes death seem less permanent.
- Line 3: Well, a couple can't hold hands if one of them has gone away, right? Right? Right. Here, holding hands symbolizes physical presence and life—the very things that death eliminates.
- Line 4: The speaker notes how she used to half turn to go, but also half stay. While just a narration of a past event, this little snippet is practically a metaphor for the speaker's feelings about death as well.
- Lines 5-6: Again, the speaker talks about death without talking about death. When she talks about not being around to hear her beloved tell her about his plans for the future, we know this isn't because they've broken. This is more or less a giant periphrasis for death.
- Lines 11-12: "Darkness and corruption" stand in for death. The word "vestige" is key, as it refers to something leftover after the speaker has gone away. Here, it is more or less a symbol of life, or of anything that defies death.