The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: Levin, Phillis. “Vigil.” The Art of Losing (Bloomsbury USA, 2010).

Note that all parenthetical citations refer to the line number from which the quotation is taken.

"Vigil," a septet by Phillis Levin, concerns the multifaceted experience of grief. It is collected in The Art of Losing, a 2010 anthology of poems about grief and healing edited by Kevin Young. Divided into six sections (Reckoning, Regret, Remembrance, Ritual, Recovery, and Redemption), the collection is intended as a resource for the bereaved. "Vigil" appears in the section entitled "Recovery."

Levin has shared in interviews that memory plays an important role in her work. In "Vigil," the speaker's evocative questions prompt the reader to consider the possibilities of living with loss. While the speaker offers no personal details or narrative, the poem addresses the ambiguous nature of grief and offers a path forward.