Leaving Cardiff

Abse grew up in Wales and therefore leaving his hometown was tough, this poem reflects his mood of travelling away. "I prepare to sail from where the docks' dereliction's are" he's sailing away from Cardiff, the idea of dereliction's could symbolise him abandoning his hometown. We get the idea he is leaving by ferry and "black shapes upon the pier, make the furthest star seem near" this could show people waving goodbye, but also could be interpreted as his old life is so far away because he is leaving yet distance wise it isn't that far as they have only pulled away from the mooring.
Abse describes himself as being sad at leaving as "knots of water flow, pump to my eyes and spill" this could symbolise  the build up of emotions and him crying at what he's leaving behind.
The poem reads as if Abse didn't have a choice in leaving as "who would choose to go"  hence why he didn't want to leave, he worries about how much he will change once he's left and if he will be welcome when he returns "can i be the same man twice."
The last stanza is about how "the boats under the hill at Penarth, unload and move on" giving a sense that everything will carry on the same, and though he's leaving he needs to carry on his ways just somewhere else, he needs to move on.