The poem, 'In the Rear-View Mirror', Robert Shaw explores the important theme of maturity gained through experience as the persona describes the addressee moving away from his/her loved ones. Robert Shaw skillfully communicates this idea of growth and maturity through the spatial metaphors and the development of the addressee's memory as he/she transitions through life. The title itself has a significant symbolic meaning, as the 'rear-view mirror' becomes symbolic for the addressee's memory and its capacity to open a way into the past. I believe that through this poem Shaw intended to demonstrate that, although leaving your loved ones 'behind your back' may be difficult, through such experience, is one finally able to reach maturity and create something valuable that lasts eternally, - memory.
In the first nine lines of the poem, a sense of sadness is created through the
