The spirit of Jane / lives on in you, / my mother says / trying to describe / who I am.
-- Speaker (Lines 1 – 5)

Importance: These are the opening lines of the poem, spoken by the speaker's mother. Here, the speaker's mother suggests that there are similarities between the speaker and her deceased aunt Jane. When the speaker says her mother is "trying to describe who [I am]," she implies that her identity is being forged based on the life of another. This sets up the primary conflict in the poem.

I feel like the girl / in the late-night movie / who gazes up in horror / at the portrait of / her freaky ancestor / as she realizes / they wear the same gaudy pendant / round their necks.
-- Speaker (Lines 6 – 13)

Importance: In this fictional scenario, the speaker compares herself to a character in a horror movie who notices a similarity between themself and a dead relative. This image introduces the concept of haunting to the...