Winter Winds

"Consumed with that which it was nourished by."
("That time of year" - Shakespeare)

One image that particularly struck me in this poem was the image of fire.  This poem presents the death of fall into the season of winter.  Winter is compared to a fire that consumes the fall.  The "ashes" referred to are the ashes of a youthful world in which plants thrive and animals move about freely.  However, winter brings this entire process to a stop.  In the excerpt above, it says that a fire consumes everything that nourishes it.  This seems selfish at first; however, a fire must consume it's ingredients in order to keep burning.  In the same way, fall must turn to winter in order for the process of life to begin all over again.  Without winter, there would be no new life.

The first three quatrains refer to the passage of fall into winter.  However, the last two lines serve to compare this process to a greater lesson in life.  In order for a person to fully appreciate something, it must be taken away first.  Winter serves a purpose of allowing us time to fully appreciate the beauty of spring.  If we are given something for too long, the value begins to deteriorate.  Therefore, time apart from this thing will allow a person time to grow.