Night

The poem takes place at night and in the early hours of the morning. Nighttime is often associated with death, darkness, and the unknown, but it also allows for solitude, contemplation, and mystery. Both of these associations appear in the poem. The subconscious mind has more free reign at night, allowing mental processes outside of conscious awareness to influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This can be seen when the speaker imagines herself and her partner as a pair of migrating birds.

The Speaker's Bedroom

The speaker wakes suddenly at night, and her intimate resting place becomes defamiliarized. This slightly uncanny experience causes her bedroom to become a glacial tundra. The feather pillows on the speaker's bed lead her to imagine herself and her partner as birds flying through a hostile landscape. This represents the way that life is full of both beauty and risk. The speaker prefers to...