Postcard to his Wife is a poem written by Abse following the death of his life long partner Joan. However the poem is written as if Joan has only gone to somewhere from which returning is possible. This poem conveys Abse's pain and mourning of his loss, for example he begins by describing how "the dulcamara of memory is not enough" expressing that he cannot fulfill his need for his wife even by remembering the memories they shared. He also says that he knows "the impoverishment of self and the Venus de Milo is only stone" this quote suggests that Abse has found a new perspective on what is important, and what the true riches in life are since his wife passed away, this is shown by his mention of the Venus de Milo which is a statue admired by many, but yet Abse is completely correct in saying that it is in fact "only stone".
In the beginning of the second stanza Abse expresses a simple pain of loss by saying "the bed's too big" which is something anyone after the loss of a partner to any means can understand. He also shows a slight denial of the fact his wife is gone forever by trying to plan excuses and reasons for her to return as well as things they could do together again upon her return.
The final, and possibly most powerful, line of the poem says "absence can't make Abse's heart grow fonder". In saying this, Abse takes a famous saying, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and presents it in such a way that a readers view on the saying may change and also they may understand more clearly Abse's feelings by him relating them to something we are already familiar with.
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