Poetry Reponse #2 ~ Lost Love

Adryanna Hickman

Ms. Locano

AP Lit-1st Hour

27 September 2016

Lost Love

In this emotion packed poem “ Ending,” written by the late Gavin Ewart, he captures his readers by pouring out the feeling of emptiness the speaker experienced. Ewart writes this poem to engulf his readers with the profound sadness the speaker was feeling. In lines 1-4 it states that, “ The love we thought would never stop / now cools like a congealing chop. / The kisses that were ho like curry / are bird-pecks taken in a hurry.” This quote is a prime example of the loneliness he/she is feeling, one in which most people, including me, can relate to. The feeling of utter love, the kind that sweeps you off your feet and you hope that you don’t have to blink because you don’t ever want to miss a second. I can imagine how the speaker must feel to loose something that you never thought could be lost nor replaced.

I am currently in a long term relationship with a guy I want to marry, therefore the poem speaks to me in a fearful way. When I read this poem I instantly thought of my boyfriend. What if we don’t last? What if I turn out to be like the speaker? Are our electric charges going to die out too? This poem was emotional and relatable because of the fact that most readers have a heartfelt breakup. “ The feet  that ran to meet a date / are running slow and running late / The eyes that shone and seldom shut / are victims of power cuts.” (7-10) These quotes mean that at one point you had all this energy but now you suddenly don’t want to be bothered. I can relate this quote to one of my exes who I broke up with because I  was bored in the relationship and it came to the point where I forgot I was even  in a relationship.

Even though this poem really confirmed a huge fear of mine I still loved it because of the straightforwardness, addition of pathos to connect with  the reader, and use of diction. Examples of diction would be “victims of a power cut,”(10) and “ congealing chop.”(2) The poem is very easy to comprehend and decipher, but also promotes deep thought.

In conclusion, I would refer this poem to anyone who has gone through a breakup and can relate to the speaker's situation.