by concentrating on his preparation for heaven, the speaker confronts the potential for his own death. in order to become god's musical instrument, he must tune himself. alternatively, he may be compared to a map, and as he makes his way westward across his own life's map, he discovers that the westernmost and easternmost locations on a map are identical. original sin caused by the tree in the garden of eden has a parallel in the cross, where sin was paid for, and death is thus resurrection. the poet's life might be used as a lesson to explain that dying and going through pain are normal parts of the path to redemption.