How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
We lived near together on a lane in Ch'ang-kan,
Both of us young and happy-hearted (5-6)
This poem begins way back in the speaker's childhood, when she's just a little girl playing with a little boy who lives in the neighborhood. The description of herself and her sweetheart in those childhood days as "young and happy-hearted" gives us a sense of the carefree joy that they both felt as children. By beginning in her childhood days, the speaker frames time as an important theme in the poem.
Quote #2
…At fourteen I became your wife (7)
By referencing her age here, the speaker gives us a sense of the years that have passed from her childhood days, and the changes that have taken place. She's no longer a little kid playing with flowers. She's a wife now.
Quote #3
Your footprints by our door, where I had watched you go,
Were hidden, every one of them, under green moss (19-20)
The image of the husband's footsteps overgrown with green moss conveys just how much time has passed since the speaker's hubby has left. It's been months and months, and the growing green moss is a strong visual image that conveys this passage of time.