February

This poem is full of metaphors and symbols, and I would like to reflect on a few. The cat is the central theme and metaphor in the poem. It symbolizes the dread and dreary party of winter, and how depression takes over us when it's cold. It even explains that February is "a month of despair." The cat metaphor extends through the whole poem. Another symbol is "a skewered heart in the centre." The skewered heart represents Valentine's Day. The adjective "skewered" leads us to believe the speaker is not too fond of Valentine's Day. Even though it's supposed to be a time of love and joy, it is the opposite for the speaker.