One Art
The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.
--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.
The poem One Art by Elizabeth Bishop describes about the losing ‘precious objects’ such as mother’s watch in the poem, and ‘memories’ about where you lived or what you have done before. When we lose something, we are in pain as it is a disaster, but the author has different thought on ‘losing.’ By using ‘The art of losing isn’t hard to master,’ he implies that losing is one part of life; human life is great art, and so losing is art since it is the part of art. In other word, he says even we lose precious memories such loved ones, we have to accept the lost as part of life.
This poem is quite concise. Many poems have different meaning behind the words, but it was easy to understand the poem (though I am not sure if I am correct). That is not why I like this poem; this poem personally speaks to me. I am forgetful, so I have lost many things, but this poem says we need to accept the lost and this cheers me up.
(I can't find any good pictures for this..-_-;;)
