Departing Light - “In Departing Light”
The departing light allegorically depicts inexorable mortality. Gray acknowledges, “My mother will get lost on the roads after death./Too lonely a figure/to bear thinking of.” Gray eyewitnesses as his mother’s light (life), which has been brilliant for ninety years, dims gradually. The darkening of light is overpowering for it follows an ordinary passage of life.
Tithonus - “In Departing Light”
The tithonus portrays conspicuous immortality. Gray draws a comparison between his mother and the tithonus when he writes, “Yet she is so calm you think of an immortal – a Tithonus withering/forever on the edge/of life.” A withered tithonus may not be as dynamic as a live one, but still it is in existence. The withering is comparable to the diminished liveliness that Gary observes in his mother.
Pears - "A Bowl of Pears"
The pears embody fascinating freshness. Gray describes, “a freshness/like the breeze that is felt upon/the opening/of day’s fan.” The freshness that the pears depict charms the consumers. The apparent freshness implies that the pears have been harvested recently hence they have not shrunk. Alternatively, the pears could symbolize represent ripened, absolute youthfulness.
Twilight - “Twilight”
The twilight signifies striking nature for it is distinguished by stars. Gray observes, “These long stars/on/stalks/that have grown up/early/and are like/water/plants and that stand.” The timely manifestation of the stars proclaims a stunning twilight. In the context of life, the twilight would epitomize the pinnacle of life.
Wing-Beat - "Wing-Beat"
The process of beating wings through various seasons non-literally represents living. Gray proclaims, “I can expect to own/ten summers, before the heights of blue close down./Although I’ve gone/northwards, I will cross the lawn/at home—the trees and yard in bloom—/in the mirror in an empty room.” The beating of wings cannot go on for perpetuity. The incidence of death, which is alluded in the phrase “the heights of blue close down,” certifies that one will no longer be able to beat the wings through the annual seasons. Accordingly, the seasons are immortal but the wing-beaters are not.
