out of my head - elise's journal

"One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop (1976)

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.

We studied this poem in class today. I found it very interesting and meaningful, which is why I decided to post it here. Things are going very well for me. Busy though. Not much time to watch the Olympics, which is sad. The winter break is also approaching very soon. Yay! Thanks Kass, Jazzy and Rachel.

# written by Elise

Comments:

Hey! C'était vraiment cute comme poème :) Je suis contente de voir que tu vas bien...Vivement la semaine de relâche! ;)

Kass

# posted by

Kass : 2/22/2006 3:25 PM

That poem is awesome. Thanks for posting it and that's cool you got to study it. They obviously choose well thought-out poems for you guys to research on. :)

Glad things are going well. I am really going to remaster my site, it so needs it. I will eventually do it when I get all the resources I need. jac xxx

# posted by

Jazzy : 2/24/2006 3:22 AM