I was reading this today. Then I went on-line to hear Elizabeth Bishop read it herself and I did. I like this clip better. The art of losing is not, in fact, hard to master. We lose things that are meant to be lost every day, no big deal. Sometimes we lose things that we work so hard for that we want to die when we lose them. That’s ok too. It’s only natural to be disappointed. I think there are only a few things that are too big to lose. Don’t lose your grip on your life. Don’t lose your ability to love. Don’t lose your ability to be loved. That’s it for me. These three things are things you have to forfeit to lose. They can not be taken from you. You are the only one who can give them away. Sometimes you’ll bobble them, we all do. Sometimes I drop mine down the stairs and they roll under the couch or the fridge and I can’t find them. Sometimes I even take a few days off from looking for them. Sometimes, I’ll smash them into little balls and hide them in my closet under my lifting shoes and my gym bag. Sometimes I’ll hide them at McDonald’s all the way in the back under a stack of cheeseburgers. Or I’ll misplace them in the local bar at the bottom of some brown bottle. Sometimes I’ll get lucky and wake up with them right next to me snoring, just a little. Those mornings are the best. Whatever, no matter where you lose them or leave them or hide them, they will always be right where you left them. They will always fit you, they are yours. Don’t lose them.
kettle,
