The Writing of the Poem
The fact that Frye wrote this poem is a symbol of her love for her friend and also for her natural empathy. She sees that her friend is suffering terribly and struggling with feelings of guilt, brought on by the fact that she was not present to stand at her mother's grave and mourn her. Wanting to make her friend feel better, and also wanting to give her something to hold on to moving forward, she wrote the poem to show that there were many other ways to mourn and connect with her mother in her everyday life, regardless of where she actually is in the world. This is a symbol of Frye's ability to empathize with others and to frame their pain and a solution for it in the form of poetry.
Nature Motif
Throughout the poem there are references to nature. Each of the ways in which the narrator suggests finding her presence are connected to the natural world; for example, she is "a thousand winds", "the sun on ripened grain" and "the soft stars that shine at night". Each of these is part of the natural and not the human world and in this way nature is a motif that runs through the entire poem.
Sleep Symbol
The poet uses sleep as a metaphor for death. The narrator states that there is no point in her daughter standing at her grave because she isn't really there, and she "does not sleep". In this sense, sleep is a metaphor for death, because it is a sleep that one never wakes up from.
Stars Symbol
The stars that shine at night are a symbol of the narrator's presence. They are also a symbol of the way in which the narrator will still be a beacon for her daughter reading the poem and will light the darkness for her.
Glistening Snow Symbol
The narrator is symbolized by the light on the snow, not by the snow itself, again likening herself to a ray or a beacon of light for her love one. The snow is given a magical quality, shining "like diamonds" giving her presence and extra clarity and strength.
