Passage of Time

Lauterbach's repetition of the words “yesterday,” “today,” and “tomorrow” make the passage of time a major theme in “Hum.” The puzzlelike framework in which the terms are placed underscores the sense of dislocation the narrator must be feeling. At various points, she states, “Tomorrow was yesterday” and “The towers are yesterday.” The first statement implies that the day before had been a fateful “tomorrow”—a day whose events had been long in coming. Yesterday, also, the towers existed. Yesterday things were different and perhaps more hopeful. Furthermore, “The tears of today / will put out tomorrow.” That is, the future that once existed for many—including those who perished in the September 11 terrorist attacks as well as their family and friends—has been replaced by grief. Also, the statement “Today is weather” is something of a neutral revision of the repeated statement “The days are beautiful.” The...