"On longer evenings,
Light, chill and yellow,
Bathes the serene
Foreheads of houses."
In this section of the poem, Larkin describes the beauty of spring. This is a typical depiction of spring, with the emphasis on the serenity of the scene and the "longer evenings." However, this traditional depiction of spring is later subverted in the poem.
"It will be spring soon,
It will be spring soon."
This is when we first learn what the focus of the poem is. The fact that this line is repeated is important as this symbolizes a shift in the focus of the poem. Before this point, Larkin gives a typical description of spring, but after this turning point, Larkin subverts our expectations.
"And I...
Feel like a child
Who comes on a scene
Of adult reconciling."
When describing how he feels about the coming spring, the speaker compares himself to a child who witnesses a reconciliation between adults after an argument. He describes this reconciliation as being marked by "unusual laughter," suggesting that there is something the child does not understand about the situation. In the same way, the speaker suggests there is something intuitively negative about the coming spring, that may not be immediately understood.
