I’ve been reading about the art of repetition in poetry, as analyzed by Annie Finch in her collection of essay’s The Body of Poetry: Essays on Women, Form, and the Poetic Self. I’ll write about Finch’s fascinating treatment of this topic at a later time.
Tonight’s brief post has a different purpose. In the essay "Repetition, Repetition," Finch uses Sara Teasdale’s poem "Let It Be Forgotten" as a paradigm of how repetition works in poetry in an aural, visual, and conceptual sense. And Finch is so right! Teasdale’s poem is exceptional because of her repetitive uses of words (forgotten, long), visual images (flower, fire), and concepts (the passing of time). Upon reading this, I realize exactly what Finch realized in her commentary on the poem -- Teasdale's amazing craft. For this reason, I’m posting it here:
Let It Be Forgotten
by Sarah Teasdale
Let it be forgotten, as a flower is forgotten,
Forgotten as a fire that once was singing gold,
Let it be forgotten forever and ever,
Time is a kind friend, he will make us old.
If anyone asks, say it was forgotten
Long and long ago,
As a flower, as a fire, as a hushed footfall
In a long forgotten snow.
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