Cinders (Symbol)
The cinders are a symbol in the poem of lifelessness. They are the final image in the sequence of details the reader receives about the hospital's back wings, and they are aptly bleak. Not only do they fit with the attribution that nothing can grow in this forgotten part of the building, but they also connote ruin, as they are the physical remnants of fire. They function in the poem as shorthand for the physical deadness of the bleak setting.
Broken Glass Bottle (Symbol)
The shards of glass that appear at the poem's end symbolize glimmers of beauty. This image has a unique meaning in that it is not something overtly or traditionally appealing. What Williams accomplishes in using the symbol of the glass bottle is revealing the way in which this harsh, overlooked part of the hospital contains the potential for momentary elegance. In this way, the fragments of glass symbolize a particular kind of beauty, the sort that occurs in these forgotten spaces and is derived from unlikely sources. Williams is showing how a discerning eye can perceive these instances, if they look in with the right frame of mind.
