We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

Stanza 10 Summary

Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.

Lines 37-40

What are all those
fuzzy looking things out there?
Trees? Well, I'm tired
of them and rolled her head away. 

  • Well, it looks like the speaker's grandmother didn't even know she was staring at trees the whole time. Her near-blindness and dementia keep her from recognizing what they are. To her, they're just "fuzzy looking things." 
  • The last two lines pay off the poem's title, and we get to hear the grandmother's last words: "Trees? Well, I'm tired of them."
  • It's almost funny, though in a sad kind of way. The speaker's grandmother gets in one more sassy quip before she goes.
  • It seems that it's her way of saying she's done with the world. She's seen plenty of trees, and she doesn't need to see any more. 
  • It's up for debate whether she literally dies when she "roll[s] her head away." But what is clear is that, with that final statement, she detaches herself from the world of the living. 
  • She's ready to go… wherever she's headed next.