Pls give me a clue! ~Poem: For Jane~?

Question

In this poem, For Jane, by Charles Bukowski, what might the part about the "dry stick" and the "tiger" mean?

225 days under grass
and you know more than I.
they have long taken your blood,
you are a dry stick in a basket.
is this how it works?
in this room
the hours of love
still make shadows.

when you left
you took almost
everything.
I kneel in the nights
before tigers
that will not let me be.

what you were
will not happen again.
the tigers have found me
and I do not care.


Pls note that this is a love poem dedicated to the poet's passed away lover, Jane. Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot!~

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

The dry stick in a basket...i think he is talking about her dead body in a coffin. And the tigers is his agony; he is frightened of being eaten by
it and not survive his grief of his passed away lover.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thank you, your explaination totally make sense~!

Answer 2

I agree, the "dry stick" is the empty shell of a corpse. tigers are the pangs of agony that will not go away. At the end of the poem it states "tigers have found me and I do not care". The pangs have taken over and he doesn't care to live any longer.