The Widow's Lament in Springtime

     The poem "The Widow's Lament in Springtime" contrasts the ways in which nature and humans cope with the circle of life. The widow described in the poem is witnessing the flora in her yard transitioning from the barren winter to a flourishing spring. Even though nature suffers loss with the arrival of winter, it does not grieve because everything will return in the spring. The widow is seemingly envious of this luxury because after the loss of her husband, the garden is less beautiful knowing they have the ability to carry on after death: "The grief in my heart is stronger than they for though they were my joy formerly, today I notice them and turned away forgetting" (14-19). This contrast is evident in the colors described in the garden. The garden that isn't grieving is filled with, "masses of flowers...yellow and some red," colors that are vivacious and optimistic. However, the area of the woods that the widow wishes to visit has, "trees of white." White, a color which can mean cleanliness and new beginnings, can also in large quantities represent isolation and emptiness. The differences in which nature and the widow process guilt is depicted in the imagery of the poem.