I empty myself of the names of others. I empty my pockets.
I empty my shoes and leave them beside the road.
At night I turn back the clocks;
I open the family album and look at myself as a boy.
What good does it do? The hours have done their job.
I say my own name. I say goodbye.
The words follow each other downwind.
I love my wife but send her away.
My parents rise out of their thrones
into the milky rooms of clouds. How can I sing?
Time tells me what I am. I change and I am the same.
I empty myself of my life and my life remains.
Although this poem is rather melancholy and depressing, it really caught my eye for some reason. Strand fears the future, for he turns back the clocks and looks at old photographs instead of looking ahead. Instead of appreciating life for all that it is worth, he focuses on how death seems to be looming just around the corner, and it seems that he does not want to become too attached to anything in his life because soon he will be dead. I especially liked line 11 “I change and I am the same,” because it reminded me of the saying that the more things change the more they stay the same; perhaps he believes that no matter what he does, he cannot change his fate.
My Words of Wisdom 