Point of View

This poem is told from the first-person point of view using the pronoun “I”. This is established right from the opening line: “Not easy, spending my life / in this one house” (Lines 1-2). It varies between looking inward at the speaker’s own experience and looking outward at the experiences of others. The poem functions as an interior monologue, with the speaker reflecting on the life she has lived and the life or lives she might have lived. The speaker also moves between talking about the supporting character, Peter, to herself — “It’s not Peter I pine for” (Line 12) — and addressing him directly: “Peter, you once boasted” (Line 21). This gives the point of view a sense of disjointed dialogue, as though the speaker is slipping through time.

Language and Meaning

The majority of this poem is told in straightforward, everyday vernacular, only slightly condensed to...