Fish bones walked the waves off Hatteras.
And there were other signs
That Death wooed us, by water, wooed us
By land: among the pines
An uncurled cottonmouth that rolled on moss
Reared in the polluted air.
Birth, not death, is the hard loss.
I know. I also left a skin there.
I believe this poem is about the changes that are associated with life and death. The author gives the reader examples of how death is signaling its arrival, but then she says, "Birth, not death, is the hard loss." With this line, the author is saying that death is not the only thing that can cause pain. In the last line, the author shows that she has experienced changes due to birth, and she reveals that she has moved on by shedding her old skin.
What I find interesting is that the author writes that "Death wooed us." Wooed is an interesting choice of words..like death is courting us all through life and everywhere we go.
ReplyDeleteNice poem choice and response!