Imagery in Auden's "As I Walked Out One Evening"

In W. H. Auden’s poem, “As I Walked Out One Evening,” there is a great deal of imagery that goes on throughout. At the beginning the speaker tells of “fields of harvest wheat.” This gives the picture of things healthy and natural. The speaker also tells of brimming rivers which could represent a linear sense of time. The speaker then overhears a lover speaking to his object of affection.
The lover uses a great deal of imagery to help express his love. He says, “I’ll love you till China and Africa meet, and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street.” In other words he’ll love until the end of time and space. He’ll love when worlds collide and nothing else makes sense. His view of love is one of illusion and fantasy. He says he’ll “love till the ocean is folded and hung up to dry.” The clocks beg...