Placed in stanza

a. warm exchange – this sensory image reveals the warmth and intimacy of the clasped hands, and therefore shows how the clasped hands were a source of comfort for the lovers.

b. stiffen like frosted flowers – this image reveals how the separation of the hands makes each of the two lovers feel isolated, miserable, cold and lifeless.

c. division piles emphasis like bullets – this image shows how hard-hitting and destructive the parting of the lovers actually is by comparing the division with bullets.

d. one dark air is separate and strange – this image shows the ominous nature of the surroundings in which this parting of lovers took place, i.e. the dark and dangerous time of War.