eden rock

• 'her hair, the colour of wheat, takes on the light' - mesmerised by his memory of his mother. she is shown as virtuous almost angelic which has connotations of heaven.
• 'she pours tea from a thermos' - thermos staying hot shows how everything could be the same again if he joined them in the afterlife as well as being a metaphor for keeping her memory alive. picnic is familiar as it was a common thing they did together which he now misses in his life.
• 'crossing is not as hard as you might think' - the speaker hears his parents offer both guidance and reassurance. it shows how he believes his parents miss him as he makes their life better. metaphorical for death.