Eurydice

One potential interpretation of "Eurydice" is impending death. The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice features a failed attempt to defeat death. Vuong even begins the poem with a scene of death: a doe's death rattle as an arrowhead strikes its heart. The arrowhead becomes the sunset that "replaces the day" (Line 4)—the day stands in for the doe's life, highlighting its brevity.

The speaker and his companion "saw it coming" (Line 7). The speaker’s use of “it” renders what they saw ambiguous. Did they see the doe's death, the sunset, or their deaths, the death of their relationship? The speaker suggests it does not matter. All these possibilities—twilight, the doe's death, their death—connect. What matters is that they exist, and the speaker is aware of them.

Despite their awareness, the speaker and their companion continue their journey as their position fools them into thinking they have more time than they have. The leaves appear "pure green" (Line 10) as if in daylight. However, the speaker says it is one's position that makes one seem darker. Their statement could refer to the progression of time and the closer one moves toward death. The speaker says their partner's position can make their name "sound like a full moon / shredded in a dead doe's pelt" (Lines 17-18).