In “One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop, she brings out loss in many different forms, whether concrete or abstract. His full message, however, is that it is avoidable that in our lifetime we will lose, but the loss should not be a disaster in the end. In lines 1-15 he discusses the loss of elements in your life, whether concrete or abstract. What he is trying to point out is that losing is something we do automatically, making it easy to master. He wants us to understand that losing these items is not a bad move on our part, but simply a habit. In line 5 he refers to the lost keys and in line 10 to his mother's lost watch. Both items may seem important and have some value at the time, but losing them won't ruin your life. He makes the statement “losing something every day” in line 4, and he is right, we lose things every day. We constantly lose things and can never find them again. What's the point of worrying about that something you lost? Those keys and that watch might be lost right now, but they will be found and lost again – it's the cycle that everything goes through. Ultimately, it's no big deal whether you lose something or not; happens. In line 5 he also talks about the loss of something more abstract, time. When he mentions “the hour badly spent” it comes to mind as a waste of time. In most live shows, wasting time is a common occurrence. What he wants to tell us is that it's easy to waste time and it shouldn't be a big deal, since wasting time is something easy to master. That misspent hour can be taken back and used again, so what would be the point of wasting any more time crying over that wasted time? Instead you could do something more with your time. In line 11 she refers to the three squares she lost...... in the center of the sheet ......which we see her admit in lines 18-19. She says "the art of losing isn't too hard to master, even though it may seem like a mess (write it down!)", she admits to herself that she has to write it down because it's so true. Losing someone is difficult and probably the worst loss, which is why he saved her for last. As if the other loses, however, we must realize that life will go on and we cannot hold on forever. Sometimes it's better to let go a little so as not to lose more in the end. Losing is difficult and sometimes it feels like a disaster, but ultimately it is inevitable and it is something we have to accept. It's like a cycle that he shows us in the length of his poem, moving from little things to much bigger losses in one's life. Ultimately I think this shows us that we need to face the losses that come and realize that they are not a disaster. Works Cited Poetry Used One Illustration by Elizabeth Bishop.