You have an interesting point here. I agree that after the death of her husband, the widow seems to be oblivious to everything that once brought her joy. In the beginning of the poem, the widow mentioned that she was surrounded by a “cold fire” (305). This implies that she has grown cold to the world and the happiness that it offers. Her son informed her that he had seen trees full of her favorite flowers in an attempt to cheer her up. This seems to cause her to be even more miserable, however. “I feel that I would like/ to go there/ and fall into those flowers/ and sink into the marsh near them” (306). The poem ended on a despondent note as the widow remarked that she wanted to drown herself in the marsh. This is not surprising considering
