One Art
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 oo hard to master
though it may look like ( Write it! ) like disaster.
—Elizabeth Bishop
This poem by Elizabeth Bishop was one of my Dad’s favorites. I have his copy of Geography Lessons, the book in which One Art appears. This copy first belonged to my Aunt Peggy (Margaret Ann Downs) and passed to my dad when she died. That’s two people I’ve lost and written about. The art of losing isn’t hard to master.
One of the mended garments below is a sweater of my Dad’s. I shortened the sleeves, opened vents in the hem, patched moth holes and wear it now for lounging. Old garments carry memories and keep gaining new layers of memory with time. Everyone who wore them, the places and events, breakups, interviews and first days when you wore them. Wearing an old garment is an opportunity to commune. Instead of discarding, consider repair and revival. Sometimes they get even better.
I have been repairing my family’s and friends’ garments and textiles for years. It is a practice in maintenance that I approach with love and deliberation. When you love something, you keep it alive and in good shape for as long as possible. In my life, this goes for people, pets and sweaters.
The Art of Losing
Thoughtful individualized repairs and mending
