Stanza 1:
- The speaker begins by describing the absence of the beloved as a physical presence, felt in the "airless corridor."
- Jennings uses the metaphor of a "door that must be opened" to convey the speaker's longing to bridge the gap created by the absence.
Stanza 2:
- The speaker reflects on how absence changes perception and emotions. Time seems to slow down, and memories become vivid.
- The poem highlights the contrast between the speaker's internal experience and the external world that goes on without the beloved.
Stanza 3:
- The speaker expresses a desire for the beloved's return and the end of their separation.
- The line "What else is there but waiting?" captures the speaker's sense of stasis and the overwhelming feeling of waiting that comes with absence.
Stanza 4:
- The poem ends with the speaker acknowledging the beloved's absence as an unresolvable situation.
- The phrase "There is nothing else" emphasizes the all-encompassing nature of the speaker's loss and the sense that life is devoid of meaning without the beloved.
Overall, "Absence" poignantly captures the emotional weight of separation and the profound impact of absence on the speaker's experience of time, perception, and the world around them.