"I carried her back past whitebeams
and wasps and honey-scented buddleias.
But I was Ceres then and I knew
winter was in store for every leaf
on every tree on that road."
Ceres recalls being reunited with her kidnapped daughter, Persephone, at least only to realize as they were running that winter was following. Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, understood that Persephone's destiny was now forever intertwined with the changing of the seasons. She would bring cold with her wherever she went, with all its bitterness. This realization of the mother of her daughter's dark side represents an important transition point in parenting a young adult.
"Readers of poems, lover of poetry --
in case you thought this was a gentle art
follow this man on a moonless night
to the wretched bed he will have to make. . ."
In this excerpt Boland adjures the reader not to be misled by the eloquence of her poetry. The beauty of a poem is in its dignity in the face of death. There are two elements in her poem: light and dark. Lest her readers forget that light only appears light in contrast to the darkness, Boland continues to describe the grittier side of the poet's art.
"How slowly they die
as we kneel beside them, whisper in their ear.
And we are too late. We are always too late."
In this poem Boland pays homage to all the Irish rebels who have fought for freedom for the oppressed throughout the year and been silenced. She laments only learning of their causes now, after their deaths. She feels keenly the cost of their sacrifices, especially since they are likely to be forgotten because they didn't win.
"And there was a couple who quarreled into the night,
Their voices high, sharp:
nothing is ever entirely
right in the lives of those who love each other."
This remark on the part of the narrator of this story reveals Boland's emotional maturity. Rather than accuse the couple of wrongdoing for their fights, she allows the presentation of the fights to speak for itself. They're raising their voices. There is no judgement on the narrator's part, however, because she continues by noting the necessity of acceptance in any relationship. Constantly criticizing your partner leads to discontentment, because there will always be something to change. The better value is nonviolence, to accept your spouse. This view does not condemn the argument, for there is no derogatory word written against them. Rather Boland implies by her narrator's response to the fight that the couple next door is in fact in a relationship. They're all messy, necessarily.
