We stood by a pond that winter day, And the sun was white, as though chidden of God, And a few leaves lay on the starving sod; – They had fallen from an ash, and were gray.
The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing Alive enough to have strength to die; And a grin of bitterness swept thereby Like an ominous bird a-wing….
Since then, keen lessons that love deceives, And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me Your face, and the God curst sun, and a tree, And a pond edged with grayish leaves.
This can be interpreted to mean the couple repeat the same fights without progress, the insignificance of their communication exposed through the tired and morbid undertone seen in lines such as "And some words played between us to and fro-".
This provokes strong emotion in the reader, as the cold causality of the gesture serves as reminder to the bitterness of the poem.
This further enhances the emotional turmoil inside the reader, presenting a horrifying image of something that just has enough energy to die, without breaking "neutral tone".
This pessimism was caused by many things: the industrialization of Britain which meant that the traditional way of life in his country roots were lost; the expansion of the British empire which he opposed; his unhappy first marriage; and his fear and dislike of change.