"Dawn" is when the son is taken away, the next stanza’s move the poem forward through evening (yellow moon slipping into the house), where she beseeches an unnamed “you” to pray for her, a strand of connection to others in the midst of isolation. Then we move to night, figuratively. This is the darkest point of the poem. Akhmatova speaks of loneliness, isolation, grief, the lack of meaningful religious symbols, all as symptoms of an overwhelming lack of hope.
Yet the poem continues, and "VII" describes the narrator as “still living.” At this point she points out the fact that at some point she must move on with life, “prepare to live again.” However, in order to do so, the memory and pain must somehow be “killed,” her heart turned “to stone.” It is only by banishing these emotions does she feel she can once again have hope, regain her humanity, and once again engage in living life. The narrator is aware that this death or banishment is necessary, but wonders how the process can actually occur, and if it is indeed possible to banish so much grief.
In "VIII," it appears that she feels unable to kill memory and go on, and simply waits and wishes for death. Death is the only comfort now.
