Send No Money by Philip Larkin

Send No Money by Philip Larkin
The poem is a symbolic poem about time, ageing and regret are key themes.
                                'Impendant belly of Time'
Within the first stanza, the persona is in the mind of a child, 'Tell me the way things go' implies that he is unsure of what to expect of life in the future. The poet expresses how 'All the other lads there Were itching to have a bash' which implies how the young boys were living their life to the full, unlike Larkin who was constantly thinking about life and the future.
                                       'There's no green in your eye'
In the second stanza, we learn that Larkin was not envious towards the other boys, he would rather sit and question life. Time tells him to 'Sit here, and watch the hail' suggesting that he must let life pass and wait for time to affect him. Larkin personifies time by saying 'Oh thankyou' which implies he is childlike as he 'sat down to wait.'
                                           'Half life is over now'
Throughout the final stanza, the poet is much older now as 'half [his] life is over now' which suggests he is more mature and grown up. He meets 'full face on dark mornings' which suggests his life has been dull and unpleasant, his life is more cynical and sad than before. 'The bestial visitor' implies that time is daunting and scary, along with 'bent in' which suggests something being destroyed. Life doesn't live up to expectations, in fact it is the cause of his sadness and grief. When the poet looks back at his life, sitting around waiting as proved 'Sod all' which indicates he has wasted his entire life on something that has never happened.