In this poem, Stevens paints a majestic image of a gold-feathered bird that sings and shines as the end is approaching. I interpreted this bird to be a phoenix because it symbolizes life, death, immortality, and resurrection. I believe Stevens is trying to make a point about existence and simply “being”, a realization the speaker has in a fleeting moment before the end when the speaker sees the bird. After having the “last thought,” the speaker sees an image of the phoenix. It is interesting when he says at the “palm at the end of the mind” because I first interpreted palm to be the palm of one’s hands which is very tangible and immediate, or it could be a palm tree which relates to nature and creates a sense of more distance. As I read on, I thought the speaker was talking about a palm tree because the bird is singing on the palm. It sings “without human feeling, a foreign song” which contrasts with the human viewer and the inhuman bird. In this way, the bird represents its own existence and “mere being” on the palm tree. Seeing the bird singing and existing makes the speaker realize that the reason we are happy or unhappy is not what we think it is. It may simply be because these feelings exist and are there because we are human. Stevens concludes with a final stanza that creates an even greater distance with the bird. In the last stanza, the bird is on the palm tree which is at the edge of space, a very vague and abstract area. In the very first line, the palm tree is said to be at the end of the mind, which is also very abstract. Perhaps it is the viewer that is in a strange place in time and space, and sees this image during the speaker’s “last thought”. The setting in which this poem takes place is fascinating to think about because where is the end of the mind and edge of space? Our thoughts are endless and space is infinite. Rather than flying through the sky, the bird stands on the palm and “The bird’s fire-fangled feather’s dangle down.” The abstract setting and the image of the bird makes me think that the speaker may be approaching death, and the vision of the phoenix induces the speaker to reflect on what life means, what it means to be. And perhaps the mere act of being is okay.