Line 1

The first line of "Three Times My Life Has Opened" is, obviously, a repetition of the title. But a reader should never be too quick to judge which came first. Perhaps after the poem was written, Hirshfield decided just to call it by its first line. The order makes no difference in interpreting the poem, for this line begs two questions, regardless of how the work got its name: what does the poet mean when she says her life has "opened," and what or when are the "three times" that it happened?

Line 2

The second line of the poem sets the precedent for the poet's description of the times she claims her life has opened. She does not reveal when the events occur, but rather what the circumstances are that surround each one—more like where it happens than when. Line 2 implies a sad or desolate time...