Describe symbolism in The Alchemy of Day by Anne Hebert

Hébert's relies on universal symbols, such as birth, death, and the seasons. At the start of the poem, a new day dawns, and Nature starts out as a "bloody beast", using blood as the symbol of the painful birth of Nature at the beginning of each new day. This directly contrasts with night, "Soon she'll place her hands tightly over your eyes like a living / oyster where death meditates, centuries of perfect dreams, the / white blood of a hard pearl." Note, a pearl is universally symbolic of beauty and perfection, which ties into the next stanza that discusses "the beauty of your face."