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Memory and the Past
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, names, and where it was you meant
to travel. (3.7-9)
Here, loss is re-defined not only as the loss of objects or even time, but of memory itself.
I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or next-to-last, of three loved houses went. (4.10-11)
These curious statements lead us to wonder what significance these objects, which are no longer random, but rather very specific, have for the poet.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster. (5.15)
We’re not sure how the poet lost these places; if she misses them, does that mean she still remembers them? Why might they be inaccessible to her?
– Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. (6.16-17)
For the first time, we see specific things mentioned that the poet remembers and cherishes, implying that she hasn’t really gotten over this loss – nor has she fully mastered the art of losing.
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