How does the Rhythm and Rhyme contribute to the poem?
The rhyme and rhythm contribute to the poem greatly. For instance the rhyme in the poem is steady throughout it but in the last stanza the poem shifts from having two rhyming words in the second and fourth verses of the poem, to having rhyme words in the first and third verses. This shift in the rhyme scheme shows how the couples love for each other has shifted and become uneasy. I also noticed that in stanza one and two both ended in a couplet but stanza three did not end in a couplet. This use of couplets shows how the couple presented in the poem were once together but over time they have grown apart like the third stanza missing the couplet at the end of it.
Who is speaking in the poem?
The speaker in the poem is the child of the two parents who have grown apart. The speaker seems to be a woman since in verse 4 when the speaker says
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The poem then describes how the couple have grown apart like in verse 1, and 8 which says they sleep in separate beds now and hardly ever touch. The poem also describes that their love and commitment to each other has vanished which is shown in the last line and verse seven which says their former passion is like flotsam from a wreckage and how their fire has gone cold.
What is the poet saying? What insight, truth, or moment of observation emerges from the poem?
Throughout the poem there are many truths and meanings that the poet explains. The main meaning of the poem is the nature of relationships and how aging marriages bring separateness to couples, as the speaker describes in the text how her elderly parents have become detached and are not “one flesh” anymore. Another truth that comes from this poem is effect of time on the human life and how old age effects people and their family.
Is the poet using any poetic devices? Give examples and explain how they contribute to the poem as a