Stars

Stars symbolize the inherent interconnection that the speaker feels with the universe. They provide nutrition, solace, and understanding as the speaker addresses her fear of death. In the fourth stanza, the speaker focuses on protostars and combines her own essence with the bright mist of "the not yet stars" (12).

A Young Universe

The young universe symbolizes the speaker's expansive view of existence. Elson uses the article "a" instead of "the," which could indicate that this universe is one of many. The fact that the universe is "still young" inspires humility because human lives are barely a blink of an eye even in a "still young" universe (9).

Bright Mist

Bright mist symbolizes the primordial essence of all things, including stars and humans. One of the speaker's coping strategies to deal with her mortality is to imagine her essence co-mingling with that of the stars.

Discarded Skulls

Discarded...