From looking through the first few short stanzas we are able to see there is a sense of doubt and loss provided by Abse. Within the use of the line, "I had a cause then. Surely I have a cause?" we see that the persona is judging themselves to their past and refering back to the present. Within the past he had some importance and value within his life but now that time has refered on we see that he is not so sure that it is like that. We see he had a use in the past due to how it refers to a battle occuring by his past family generations and how they are connected to him with the use of the line, "I was for them and they were for me". They are linked together due to the past and he is no the only one that remains. We also see the theme of memory due to how he recalls the events and we see the use of a metaphor as he states, "as blank as stone". From this we could refer to the battle being pointless or it could suggest the notion of him not being able to recall fully on what had happened.
As we move on within the poem we are able to see the notion of a journey occuring and the persona providing an image of the sun setting. We see the persona takes great care when looking at the sun and we see the line "Behind it, what have I forgotten?" has some elements of loss brought into it. He is stating that this is behind him but feels like he does not wish to forget it completely. We see that he talks of how this loss follows the sun therefore it could be stating to us that the notion of death is occuring but is refered to them watching only when the sun is up.
We then see the persona has arrived at his wanted destination but has discovered that all has gone. We see that he is a great deal too late due to how even the people that work there have gone home and have left him in a "unlit dark". He is surrounded by darkness and lonliness but remains there anyway. We also get the notion of death due to how he states the people that work there have "departed" therefore refering to us that he is truly alone within this part of the world.
"I am no ghost and this place is in ruins" we see that normally within the ruins of somewhere, we wonder whether the place would be haunted with ghosts and within this line we see that Abse is refering to him being so alone that he has not been made as a ghost and therefore stands out within the darkness of the ruins.
We then see that he calls out the word "Black" which could refer to two different meanings. One could be the reference to a loved one having the last name of "Black" but could also refer to him shouting out into the darkness in hope that someone would bring light to him. We also get the line, "I call softly to one dead but beloved" and therefore see that he is in a great state of loss and lonliness. Someone that he loved truly is no longer with us and he is calling out to them and we see he cared greatly for them due to how he calls "softly".
From the final word we then see that he is becoming desperate for there is no answer to his agony and all he wants is a simple reply and we see how important this is to the persona due to how Abse places this one word answer on its own line.
The poems that could link to this would be Home Is So Sad by Larkin for we are able to make the link of loss occuring within both poems. Another that could link to the key theme of loss would be MCMXIV for it represents the effect of someone dying and how it causes people to feel.
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