Main theme of poem: Loss but with the element of love and appreciation from the persona towards their mother.
The poem has a continuous rhyme scheme throughout the poem, - this could suggest the quick pace of life and how life doesn't stop for anybody and death is inevitable.
"Neighboring lights come on before it's dark" - her death has approached her before she has even realized it.
The persona describes his mother as being an incredible being and full of life and prospects - on the other hand could be suggesting what an amazing life the persona sees their mother experienced -"from one pale dot of peacock's sperm spring forth all the colours of a peacock's tail?" Also the repetition of a Peacock in the poem symbolizes something that is full of life and has a lot of substance to it - this can be symbolized through the layers of the peacocks feathers and the range of colours that are reflected off the peacock. The colours could be symbolic of all the qualities of the woman's life that she has given to the world and the feathers could be symbolical of the layers of her personality suggesting the persona felt that his mother had a personality with lots of different elements suggesting why she was so special.
In this poem Abse uses a regular rhyme scheme. The regular rhyme scheme suggests a secure relationship between the persona and his mother. Despite the secure relationship suggested in the poem it is inevitable that every great thing eventually must come to an end and this is suggested with "although only nothing keeps". Emphasis on the word 'nothing' suggests that there is nothing left to form a new start or a new end - suggesting that life goes on forever in your soul - memories of that one person are eternal.
Link to other Larkin Poems
Poems that this poem reminds me of due to loss and reflection on life are 'Reference Back' and 'Home is so sad' as they also have the element of a concrete relationship.
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