Symbol Analysis
Earth, wind, water, and fire. They make up virtually all parts of our living existence (well, maybe we should add plastic to that list) so it makes sense that the speaker would also use them to help sort through her emotions. As the speaker moves through her grief, we notice the seasons and elements moving with her, so we know she's using them as symbols for the ways we move through life and loss.
- Lines 1-4: We start in the earth and then quickly make our way into the sea with "Time's all severing wave." The transition between the two is so smooth that we really feel the speaker moving with the elements and vice versa. And since time is portrayed as a wave, we feel even more the union between nature and the human mind.
- Lines 5-7: The speaker's thoughts are no longer hovering or resting their wings over her lover's grave. We even hear that lingering airy sound with all of the long syllables we have: now, longer, over, etc.
- Lines 9-10: The cold snow has melted into spring and yet our speaker isn't feeling all that rejuvenated. So the progression of the seasons here runs contrary to the speaker's feeling of remembrance that has remained the same.
- Lines 14-15: The "world's tide" is a symbol here for the movement of time and life that's always bringing new hopes and desires. The speaker can't fight against the tide so she needs to find a way to balance her remembrance with the new desires that life brings.