The Art of Losing
The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem made to be lost
that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the wasted hour.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where you meant to go.
None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last,
or next-to-last, of three loved homes is gone.
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 (your voice, your gesture
I love) I won’t lie. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.
