Death - “Another Mystery”
Death embodies concerted mystery. Raymond Carver acknowledges that death is cryptic when he writes, “That time I tagged along with my dad to the dry cleaners-/What’d I know then about Death? Dad comes out carrying a/black suit in a/plastic bag.” Raymond Carver was naïve regarding the incidence of death; hence, he would not recognize the imminent usage of the ‘black suit’ which was to clothe his deceased grandfather. The darkness of the suit magnifies the vagueness of death.
Light - “Happiness”
The light signals spontaneous, penetrating happiness. Raymond Carver writes, “The sky is taking on light,/though the moon still hangs palely over the water./such beauty that for a minute/death and ambition, even love/doesn’t enter into this./Happiness. It comes/unexpectedly. And goes beyond, really, any early morning.” The correspondence between the sky and light initiates astounding happiness. It is the form of happiness that cannot be foretold for it comes unexpectedly and it is prompted by nature.
Empty Place - “No Need”
In “No Need”, Raymond Carver designates the bareness of life when he writes, “ I see an empty place at the table.” Then Raymond Carver appeals to the addressee, “Let me go/We shall not meet again in this life,/so kiss me goodbye now.” Raymond Carver’s acknowledgment of the hollowness of life prompts him to invite an ultimate goodbye before he departs from the empty table.
Cargo - “Margo”
Cargo is a free spirit who could not be repressed, for she, “Sailed away/under her own power. Went to places/pictured in books, and some /not in any book, or even on the map. Places she, being a girl, and cargo, never dreamed of getting to./Not on her own, anyway.” Cargo outdid her gender go voyage places that one would not anticipate. Cargo’s tourist-like lifestyle affirms that the alteration of her name from Margo to Cargo was pertinent.
