— If a year is divided into four seasons — spring, summer, autumn and winter — the poet compares his stage of life to the second last season before the end of the year i.e. autumn.
— Secondly, he uses the stages of a day i.e. morning, noon, evening, night — compares himself to be in the evening stage before night closes up everything in sleep.
— Thirdly he uses the image of with four stages — fuel, flame, ember and ash; puts himself in the ember stage to represent his aging body before *.
Detailed Answer :
Comparing his aging body, the poet says, if a year is divided into four seasons-spring, summer, autumn and winter, he is approaching the autumn of his life when only a fews leaves are left on the bare branches and birds, no longer, sit on them and sing. Then using the imagery of the stages of the day-morning, noon, evening, night, he compares himself with sunset i.e. the evening stage before night closes up, when everything is in sleep. He feels that he is close to **. Then he uses the image of with four stages fuel, flame, ember and ash. He compares himself to the fast fading embers, which are lying on his ashes of the youth. He puts himself in the ember stage to represent his aging body before ****.
