So many thinks seem filled with the intent

To be lost that their loss, is no disaster.

Lose something everyday. Accept the fluster.

Of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.

The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:

Places, and names, and where it was you meant

To travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! My last, or

Next-to-last, of three loved houses went.

The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, faster,

Some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.

I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture

I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident

The art of losing's not too hard to master

Thought it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

"One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop is about losing things. Bishop describes losing things as an art. "The art of losing isn't hard to master (Bishop)." She says things such as, "Lose something everyday (Bishop)." This goes along with the comparison of art to l

Throughout the poem the author was saying losing things is not that difficult to deal with, but in this line when it came to an important person, she tries to say it does not bother her, but it really does and she cannot hide it. The author lost things as small as door keys and things as large as continents, but losing someone she loves hurts much more than anything else.

"I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, faster, -- Some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent (Bishop). In this line the author is saying she lost things like cities, rivers, and continents which are huge and would be enormous losses, but she continued saying, "it wasn't a disaster (Bishop)."

"I lost my mother's watch. And Look! My last, or -- Next-to-last, of three houses went (Bishop)." This line goes along with the continuous order of losing things. She lost her mother's watch, which most likely has sentimental value, and she lost three houses, which have financial value. These losses are bigger than the losses she previously had, but she still does not think they are that bad.

"Places, and names, and where it was you meant -- To travel.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 761
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)