"The plum tree is white today
with masses of flowers."
The strongest image for me was the beauty of spring. Spring is a time traditionally described as joyous, beautiful, and full of life. However, because of the widow's pain, she cannot appreciate the season. This is especially highlighted by the line, "the grief in my heart is stronger than they" ("they" referring to the beauty of the flowers). This is a very powerful image since the renewed life in spring is such a powerful feeling. The author describes spring primarily with colors. The color white, which usually represents purity or innocence, is mentioned twice, which I think is significant. Before the loss of her husband, the woman feels pain that were previously unknown to her. His death destroyed her innocence to how painful life and loss could be. She mentions that her son "saw trees of white flowers" in the distance. She wants to go to these flowers, to this innocence, and forget her pain.
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