The Moon

As the friends sit together, the speaker reflects that the moon looks “worn as if it had been a shell / Washed by time’s waters” (Lines 32-33). This is implied to be a waning moon, a phase in which the moon is receding past fullness and growing smaller. The speaker explores the way time is hollowing out this once-full and bright celestial body in the same way time has hollowed out the speaker’s own passion, hope, and creative potential. In this way the moon becomes a broader metaphor for the speaker’s heart, as well as the romanticism of society as a whole.

Poetry

Poetry is a recurring motif in the conversation between the three friends, which the poet uses to give context to the larger themes. In the first stanza, the speaker remarks that poetry is a labor-intensive process that should, when successful...