Ambulances, Larkin

Ambulances
 Ambulances is about fear of death, and Larkin's views on dying. He slightly mocks what people view as a 'life well spent' and contemplates the meaning of living if we will all end up in an "unreachable" room, leaving him with "solving emptiness" which "lies under everything we do," symbolising death as an eminent being which hovers in everybody's mind always - it's something we cannot ignore completely, only forget about sometimes to be hit with the reality that death is in everybody's future.
 Larkin highlights the irony of people ignoring their fate, "so permanent and blank and true," through "whispering at their own distress" at the sight of a body being taken away in an Ambulance. His angst against modern living also comes to light in this poem, with him spiting those who waste time on life when we're all one "unique random blend" of people. Here, he's suggesting that life mightn't have any one purpose, and "women coming from the shops" and "children strewn on steps" are simply fiddling with their thumbs until death becomes their actuality - much like the body before them in this poem.
 The ambulance room plays a large part in this poem, and symbolises a sense of isolation from "families and fashions" cherished throughout life, acting as a carriage to the grave. Larkin's own views on death seem to be matter-of-factly, and he explores the fact that in essence everybody is leading to the same destiny, numbing the meaning behind placing importance on things which might fade - "from love to lie" being the words he uses in order to explain the journey of life - compared to something eternal. Saying "From love to lie" also perpetuates the idea that Larkin believes life only goes downhill, rather than being a 'rollercoaster' many speak of.
 There's a sense of one man's death bringing another closer here, too. Larkin writes "The traffic parts to let go by, Brings closer what is left to come," again, focusing on the human's instinct to ignore inevitable death and lump it as another man's problem, but tallying up humans like cattle - suggesting that this outlook could be negative on people's life, causing ignorance.
 In the second stanza a reflection on the usual goings-on in town are explained, before "a wild white face" is "stowed" in the ambulance, as though saving the death of the patient for somewhere more private, not to ruin the days of the women and children looking on to the scene.