Light (Motif)
"Train Journey" takes place at night, and the moon illuminates everything that the speaker sees. This allows her to connect to her environment (the "country that built [her] heart). Light symbolizes sight, which could also be an inner sight or the potential for spiritual understanding. In contrast, the train and the sky are described as dark, which casts them as imposing and chaotic. At the end of the poem, the speaker sees the "dark small trees" suddenly burn, which represents a transformation from a state of vulnerability to a primordial celebration of life.
The Air (Symbol)
The speaker highlights the dry vastness of the air and the sky, which presses down upon the trees in an imposing way. This is seen when the trees dance beneath the "barren height" of the sky. The drought that afflicts the landscape is expressed through various descriptions of dryness, which includes "the great dry flight of air." The speaker urges the trees to "Draw from the flying dark its breath of dew," or to use what they need of the air to create life inside themselves. The air thus symbolizes a threat due to its dryness, but also a possible source of vitality.
The Mother Country (Symbol)
The Australian landscape is characterized as the body of a woman in "Train Journey," but her breasts are dry and delicate due to the drought that afflicts the landscape. As a result, the speaker is concerned that her mother country will not be able to produce life. Though it is not clearly expressed in this poem, Wright often deals with her colonial heritage when she writes about the natural world. Always, there is a longing to connect with nature and to experience a sense of belonging despite inheriting a legacy of guilt.
