Affirmation Poem by Donald Hall

Affirmation

Rating: 3.5


To grow old is to lose everything.
Aging, everybody knows it.
Even when we are young,
we glimpse it sometimes, and nod our heads
when a grandfather dies.
Then we row for years on the midsummer
pond, ignorant and content. But a marriage,
that began without harm, scatters
into debris on the shore,
and a friend from school drops
cold on a rocky strand.
If a new love carries us
past middle age, our wife will die
at her strongest and most beautiful.
New women come and go. All go.
The pretty lover who announces
that she is temporary
is temporary. The bold woman,
middle-aged against our old age,
sinks under an anxiety she cannot withstand.
Another friend of decades estranges himself
in words that pollute thirty years.
Let us stifle under mud at the pond's edge
and affirm that it is fitting
and delicious to lose everything.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Robert Elder 20 January 2008

While this might not read as his best poem, the sentiment is still worth considering. For me at least it is a caution to avoid becoming too enamored of attachments in life. Certainly this is true for material goods. And, at least for me, it is a caution to avoid objectifying relationships. I know I am more at peace when I focus on conduct, and act according to my beliefs (e.g., by choosing to act with compassion when ever and however I can) . Given that I am far from perfect, and thus have much comparative experience, I do know I am happier when I act with compassion toward others rather than behave in an acquisitive manner toward others. In this light I see “Affirmation” as a work of warning even regret.

3 3 Reply
Hsiaoshuang Chin 29 January 2012

I have to re-read the poem before I appreciate how true it is in my life today at age 60

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Anne Marie 13 August 2006

Why delicious and fitting to lose everything, you ask? Maybe because only in losing it can you claim you ever had it. Everything and every person is temporary and temporarily having something or knowing someone is the is the best you'll ever get. The alternative is never having it at all. Reminds me of another poem called One Art, by Elizabeth Bishop.

3 2 Reply
Anil Kumar Panda 16 September 2019

Old age and death is inevitable. One should remain prepared to face it. Very nice poem. Thanks for sharing.

1 0 Reply
Prabhata Kumar Sahoo 02 July 2017

I got the picturisation of our aging process very clear.Yes, we are bound to it.

0 0 Reply
Sylvia Frances Chan 30 January 2024

Happiest that this poem is chosen again as The Modern Poem Of The Day. Thank you so much Poemhunter and Team

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Sylvia Frances Chan 30 January 2024

Still fantastic to read this captivating poem

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Sylvia Frances Chan 30 January 2024

I shall repeat my previous response here: It suggests that as we grow old, we lose everything, including our loved ones, friends, and even ourselves. The poem also highlights the importance of accepting this loss and finding beauty in it.

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Sylvia Frances Chan 24 January 2024

Most deseerving as The Modern POem Of The Day. CONGRATULATIONS! And Thanks for sharing this educative poem

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Sylvia Frances Chan 24 January 2024

THREE: The speaker of the poem encourages us to embrace the idea that it is "fitting and delicious to lose everything". The poem is a poignant reminder that life is fleeting and that we should cherish every moment we have with the people we love.

0 0 Reply
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Donald Hall

Donald Hall

Hamden / Connecticut
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