Wednesday, February 28, 2007

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop

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 beloved 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!) a disaster.

2 comments:

Fardde said...

ey SHarman! din know you were into LIT.

I did ONE ART last year as part of an assignment.

...and i had a *wonderful* time doing it.

sharman said...

ermmm...ok la, i like reading n stuff...some poems i like, just heard this one, so posted it...

never learnt LIT properly tho...so i never had yr *wonderful* time...maybe one day i will??? hehehe