A.E. Housman/Loveliest of Trees

In his poem, 'The Loveliest of Trees', A. E. Housman takes us through a sort of progression, if you will, from youth to age in three brief stanzas. I appreciated this poem for its simplicity and symbolism, as well as the underlying meaning hidden between the lines.
<Tab/>The first symbols I encountered in this poem were the colors. The cherry tree is blooming lovely in the spring, 'Wearing white for Eastertide'. Its fruit is at the peak of ripeness, rich and red, the color of blood, fire and passion. I feel this color could easily symbolize the life flowing inside the aut…