line repeated twice, emphasizes the point she's making, which is to warn her audience about the negative parts of love

again shows idea of beauty on the outside but suffering on the inside

beauty and perfection on the outside but painful and negative on the inside, could be reflecting her personality or the relationship she's describing

more contrast

she acts like the ideal woman at first but once you get to know her she turns out to be different than expected

more contrast, negative words paired with positive ones

imagery of desirable qualities, represents how she appears to be perfect at first glance, could be referring to "honeymoon phase" of relationship

opposites, a lot of contrast present throughout song

more contrasting language, "bad" and "good," stating she has the power to change people

she's expecting it to end, doesn't have high hopes for the relationship

contradicts earlier statement about wanting to be in love

implies she's well known, could be for good or bad reasons

could be rumors about her that her audience is hearing, or rumors about him that she's hearing

implies the person she's talking to is open and predictable, freely expresses emotions

recently gaining money, not yet used to it

metaphor, comparing love to a game, doesn't take love seriously, thinks of it as a temporary, unimportant thing

implies past mistakes, could be a constant recurring part of her life

opposite connotations, magic (+) and madness (-), heaven (+) and sin (-)

contradictory statements, "nice to meet you" implies it's their first time meeting, but "where you been" implies that she's been waiting or expecting this meeting

repetition of "take me home" implies her longing to go home and be alone, she maybe has finally had enough of the uncertainty of this relationship

unfaithfulness from both of them, toxic relationship, likely why they've been on and off

could foreshadow unfaithfulness

despite being unfaithful he still wants to be with her

confirms her suspicions about his cheating, no real reaction from either of them

she's heard rumors of him cheating, seems very casual in bringing it up, possibly has happened before

he's distracted by her

comparison to fashion trends, clothing trends rise and go away, but unlike style trends their relationship is continuous

ties back to circular, on and off relationship hinted at earlier

detailed description of person, she pays attention to his appearance

cycle of relationship, breaking up and getting back together

again implies an on and off relationship, this has happened before and hasn't ended well

skepticism, feels like she shouldn't go along but "should" implies deciding to anyway

lack of communication, could foreshadow bad things to come

could represent an on and off relationship, fading in and out

juxtaposition, uncertainty about what relationship will bring

could be a secret relationship, doesn't want to alert other people

still believes same idea, was his father's, conforming to generations of standards and expectations

the narrator is questioning of what he's expected to do, he doesn't simply conform

seems rehearsed, could represent conformity to societal standards despite not understanding significance

the narrator doesn't fully believe in the walls importance, doesn't think it's necessary, but builds it anyway

the boulders only need to stay until their backs are turned, implying this wall only matters when it is visible and relevant the the author/neighbor

implies that the wall is metaphorical since in a literal sense a spell wouldn't make much difference

feels an obligation to set up a wall, likely symbolic of the "gap" mentioned earlier

refers to spring as "mending-time," spring is often seen as a time of growth and rebirth

could be referring to societal gaps, no one has seen/heard them because they are simply constructs and not physical things, possibly questioning life and its meaning

could be representative of demands from family, society, work, etc., "yelping" implies annoyance

representative of prey, continues the extended metaphor of hunters

things are out of place, feel wrong or unnatural, could be speaking literally or referring to a metaphorical sense of discomfort/displacement

implies the hunters previously mentioned caused damage that is in need of repair

the destroying/taking from the environment; hunters can often disrupt natural flow of life

could be referring to a gap in a relationship, an argument or something that has fractured and broken a relationship of some kind

whatever the "something" mentioned in the first line is, it has a large impact

likely takes place in winter time

could be referring to wear and damage on the wall, causes the wall to need "mending" like mentioned in title

again change in structure

phrase in parentheses disrupts poem structure, which has stayed the same throughout and now changes in the final stanza; descriptions, likely referring to a person

word repeated a lot, intense and extreme description, represents strong feelings on topic

repetition of the number 2, "two cities," "two rivers," archetype refers to contrast, author has opinion contrasting with typically expressed opinions about losing

this stanza starts the same as the last one, with the words "I lost"

third time this phrase is repeated

likely important to her, has personal meaning

referring to forgetting or letting go, being carefree; encouraging loss of order or schedule, implying that going with the flow and not always having a plan isn't disastrous, message of not getting caught up in a plan or schedule

again, uncommon message/perspective, encouraging loss rather than dreading or avoiding it

repetition of this phrase from first stanza, reiterates that losing things is easy but not always negative; develops theme

strange message, uncommon perspective, losing seen as necessary part of life rather than an inconvenience

some things are meant to be lost; idea of fate, certain things are meant to happen

refers to losing as an art, doesn't see losing as a necessarily negative thing

recognizing age of ocean

expressing hope for the future of the ocean

negatively connotated language, again emphasizing the negative impact humans have had on the ocean

referring to harmful and negative effects of pollution and human interaction of the marine environment

could be symbolizing human interaction with the ocean

once again using very descriptive language, emphasizing the beauty of the ocean

shifts to a more fantastical, hopeful tone

very harsh language, introduces the idea of danger within the sea

very descriptive language of the sun illuminating the sea, emphasizes this connection between our world and the world under the ocean

barnacles can't actually stick to side of wave, symbolizes interaction between the water and the outside world

could be symbolizing harmful effects of pollution and human interaction on ocean life

constantly working, represents constant movement of ocean life

could be referring to pollution

could also be referring to ocean color, very descriptive language

likely referring to the ocean, represents the color as well as possibly the mysterious or ominous nature of the ocean

usually referring to walking, contradicts title

likely about a fish of some kind, or uses a fish as an extended metaphor

further establishes the lack of recognition he earns from his hard work

working on day of rest, emphasizes extreme dedication and care

to love someone, as the author's father loves him, puts regulations on your life and creates hardships, it's not always easy, but the narrator is appreciative of what his father gave him, further establishes the theme

repetition of this line adds emphasis, emphasizing the author's lack of acknowledgement of his father's actions and the sacrifices he made

his father is very helpful and has a large impact on his life, allows to him to appear and be at his best

describes the action of making a fire and warming the house in a more heroic and positive way, represents author's feelings towards father

represents hesitance, matches with the use of the word "fearing" in next line

could be referring to weak physical structure of house, old and falling apart, symbolizing poverty

feeling of warmth overtakes cold, describes it as something you can hear, represents the noticeable change from cold to warm

hard work and dedication go unnoticed, still does it anyway, starts to build a theme of the poem

provided warmth for family, could have meaning beyond literal warmth, also representing an emotional warmth or comforting

hard worker, shows dedication, recurring theme

extreme cold temperature, "blueblack" representing hypothermia, reiterating extreme cold

dedication to family, caring

represents success

interest in the action unfolding behind him

intense passion for basketball, sport has meaning to him

"but" and "inexplicably" show unexpectedness and shock

contrasts the intense and suspenseful action of the rest of the poem

passionate, determination to win, shows the significance and importance of the game to both sides

things start to go wrong, hope starts to die down and be replaced with nervousness

in sync, working together, strong, unbreakable bond, like brothers

implies that they often don't do this, usually don't play this well

everything going according to plan, builds a sort of hopeful suspense

very detailed description, narrator is paying a lot of attention to the game, must have an important part in narrator's life

comparison of basketball to cherished possession, demonstrates the importance of the game to the narrator and the significance of the moment being described

describes basketball in a vague, indirect way, provides a mood uncertainty

detailed description of the action, adds to suspense as action unfolds

rare occurrence, likely exciting and unexpected

personification of the shot, provides suspense and meaning, the contrast of positive connotation of the word "kisses" to the negative connotation of "helplessly" demonstrates the feeling of disappointment