In the first stanza of the poem, Alvarez decribes our heroine. She has just completed her task, her giant push in what she believes is the right direction. She is still young and she too is changing, "She sees her reflection, a face still dramatic,/pale and young in that afterward light." (Alvarez pg 542) Both our speaker and protagonist are unsure what she 'll do next, but we can tell she is lonely with the imagery used "dark fields rolling by," "night sky grain with stars" (lines 6-7) instead of bright stars, they are dull. Though we get a clear understanding it is nighttime from these lines, we also fill with this lonliness feeling that night can bring. We may also grab this feeling of heavy shoulders with the last line of the first stanza,