This poem dramatizes the transience of this life. Nothing is eternal.

Throughout the poem the author

references items, possessions, or people that she has lost in life. In doing this the poet reminds readers

that we lose things all of the time in our everyday lives, both significant and insignificant. It also reminds

us that no matter how much we love something, it wont be around forever. When she writes, so many

things seemed filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster. (1.2-3), the writer expresses

how many things seem destined to be lost. This poem asks readers to reflect upon the losses weve

experienced in our own lives, and to stop and think for a moment about the way in which our worlds

constantly change.

In the beginning of the poem the reader may be confused with the author calling loss an art. Later in the

first stanza the reader can deduct that the author has been through many types of loss. Readers would

also be surprised that the author declares that loss is no big deal. In the second stanza the poet instructs

readers to practice losing and to accept the fluster rather than fight it. The writer also goes on to say

that time can also be lost or wasted. Throughout the third stanza the losses become more significant.

The author beings to lose names, memories of places, and memories of people. She still confidently

explains that losses arent too bad. The poet begins to get personal when the reader gets to the second

stanza. She explains that she has lost her mothers watch. Immediately the reader realizes that the

watch could either stand for the poets relationship with her mother or could even just represent her

mother. The fifth stanza becomes very confusing and strange. The poet then lists cities, rivers, and

continents as some of her losses. Cramming all of these losses into one stanza forces the audience to

wonder what the author was truly getting at. When the poem gets to the sixth stanza readers can tell

that the speaker has lost some of her optimism and confidence. She explains that loss is very hard but

very easy to master. In the last line the author shows the true difficulty of coming to terms with loss. She

forces herself to write it! She seems to barely be able to get the last word, disaster, written on the

page.
Throughout the whole poem the author utilizes imagery, personification, and symbolism. In lines 2-3 the

poet personifies the lost objects stating that they are seeming filled with the intent to be lost. The

writer uses symbolism when talking about her mothers watch, the cities, rivers, and continents. Her

mothers watch could also stand for the relationship that has been lost between her mother and she

due to her mothers passing. The cities could represent past experiences linked to those cities. The same

could be said for the rivers and the continent. She was not physically losing the city. She was just losing

the memories that were linked to those locations.

In the last stanza of the poem Elizabeth also uses imagery very effectively. She evokes actual images in

the readers mind when she writes about the watch, cities, rivers, and continent. She also give the

reader a mental image of her saying, Even losing you in a joking voice. When Bishop includes (write

it!) in her poem it shows the reader that the poet has completely broken down and has realized how

difficult loss is. It also shows that there was a break in the poets state of mind. She was no longer

confident and optimistic. The poets purpose with this poem was to show the reader how transient the

world and all that is in it can be.