Let Us Come, to the Water,,,,

("Crossing the Bar", Tennyson)

This entire poem uses symbols to describe death and the afterlife. The "bar" serves as the purgatory; it's not quite into the ocean yet it's not on the shore. The "deep end" serves as hell: dark, airless, unknown, and suffocating. The "Pilot" is the God-figure, bring comfort out of the ocean and an offer of escape from the bar. The scene takes place in the evening, usually interpreted as the end of one's life or growing old. With these symbols, the piece works to describe a peaceful, humble, and quiet death. The speaker seems to want to just pass away without being noticed or cried over. It's a self-less desire fueled by the hope and knowledge of the afterlife. The poem gives one of the best images of death represented by symbols of the ocean.