A.E. Housman/Loveliest of Trees

In his poem, 'The Loveliest of Trees', A. E. Housman takes us through a sort of progression, if you will, from youth to age in three brief stanzas. I appreciated this poem for its simplicity and symbolism, as well as the underlying meaning hidden between the lines. <Tab/>The first symbols I encountered in this poem were the colors. The cherry tree is blooming lovely in the spring, 'Wearing white for …

…in a different form of its life stage. The cherry tree has gone from spring to winter, from blooms to cold, icy snow, as our lives naturally do, and the underlying message of the poem seems to be that we, as frail, passing humans, need to take risks, do what we can to appreciate all that life has to offer, because when you really think about it, fifty years isn't really that long to live.