How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
It was late, late in the evening,
The lovers they were gone;
The clocks had ceased their chiming,
And the deep river ran on. (57-60)
It seems fitting that this poem begins and ends with a river since that river represents Time and that's what this poem is all about. Here in the last four lines, the lovers are gone and even the clocks are silenced. So, Time has outlasted Love. We kind of saw that one coming. Time has even outlasted the clocks. We are left with the sense that Time really is eternal. Even after there is no one left on the planet to track time in minutes and hours, Time will keep on keepin' on just like that "deep river" that runs on even as the poem itself comes to an end.