Slowly melting i was brave as i walked
In this context, I view the ‘melting’ as relating to the ‘melting’ of the narrator’s heart. This is an idiom that describes one’s emotions overflowing and becoming overwhelming.
with you to the front door threw
The ‘front door’ conveys both literal and metaphorical meanings. Metaphorically, it acts as a threshold between the world of domestic living the boy has experienced and the battlefields of the future. All of the memories the narrator has of her son become separated from his present-day being by the door as well.
it open the world overflowing like a treasure chest a split second
The simile ‘like a treasure chest’ relates to the emotions of both the man and his mother. As he leaves the adventure and glory that ‘treasure’ connotes his naïve perception of newfound freedom and his childlike excitement. For the mother, ‘overflowing’ signifies her inability to control her emotions anymore as he leaves.
and you were away intoxcicated
‘Intoxicated’ may seem a strange word choice due to its association with drunkenness and lost control. However, it fits perfectly to describe the man’s adrenaline rush of freedom and naïve excitement causing him to think irrationally.
after youd gone i went into you bedroom and released a song bird from its cage
The release of ‘a song bird’ is a metaphor that relates to the newfound freedom of the man – note how ‘cage’ (signifying his former domestic life) seems very constrictive and oppressive. Another interpretation of this metaphor is that the mother is releasing her emotions which she has bottled up as though they were caged.
later a single dove flew from its peer tree
A ‘dove’ is a symbol of peace and often for new life. The fact that it is a single dove could foreshadow something bad happening to the man as this sense of isolation creates a sense of broken hope.
and this is were it has led me skirting the church yard walls
The dove leads her to a ‘church’. Naturally, this is a significant symbol as, although churches have religious significance of hope, unity and devotion, they also house the dead – hinting that the ‘dove’ has led her to the grave of her son.
making tucks, darts, pleats, hat-less, without a winter coat or reinforcment of scarf and gloves
Her exposure to the cold is a metaphor for her vulnerability to be confronted with her son’s grave. ‘Reinforcements’ is an example of military imagery and the lack of them, in this case, could relate to the isolation of her son in the graveyard, hence, further foreshadowing this tragedy.
Wondershare EdrawMind
