Poetic nature language (Symbol)
The first several lines of this poem are full of advanced word choice, including several terms—"osseous," "samara," "chiaroscuro," for example—that readers might need to look up. This is unusual for Limón, who is known for her straightforward, clear style. The meanings of many of these words are obscured, in part because their meanings are not what's important to the poem. The words are stand-ins for poetic language itself, building on the title, "The End of Poetry": the speaker is tired of things being said in such ornate, complex ways. She wants to feel things exactly as they are, and the downside of this traditionally "poetic" language, despite its beauty, is that it distances us from the subject.
Enough (Motif)
While not a traditional motif, which is usually an image or detail, the word "enough" and the concept of ending recur as the driving force of this poem. The title announces an "End," and the word "enough," appearing in almost every line, consistently tells us what the speaker wants to end. The word "enough" protests the overwhelming and exhausting structures of life, tragedy, sorrow, poetic artifice, religious archetypes, and more. Overall, the poem seems to ask for a total reset of our lives, to refocus on the core of real human connection.
The high water (Symbol)
The "high / water" in lines 19-20 is likely a symbol of climate crisis, suggesting either rising sea levels or worsened storms. Limón has written about the "rising tides" before in "Dead Stars," which encourages humans to stand up for the earth and call for an end to pollution.
