I've laughed at the Arctic Ocean with good friends
Tasted warm German libations with my ethnic grin
I've made lifelong friends and loved under Northern lights
I was able to center and appreciate life
I am okay with being an ex-wife
I find joy in lazy Sunday afternoons
I am a book with one more chapter
It is peace, joy and security I am after
I've seen the reality of a sad demise
I love the hues of ethereal skies
It takes nature to make us wise
My kinky red hair is fading to gray
I've come to realize, it's okay
I'm still sexy anyway!
I'm that Natural Woman Aretha sang about
The brown sugar that made Mick Jagger shout
Looking out on the morning rain
Knowing I overcame
I adore colorful flowers in bloom
Joni Mitchell lyrics on a Saturday afternoon
Perfect sunsets and butterflies
Strengthening friendships and family ties
A good book and looking back at old photos
A relaxing pedicure for my pretty toes
Embracing the good times I've had
I'm able to smile when remembering my dad
I am watching my daughter maneuver life
Wishing her joy whether single or married
The most precious cargo I ever carried
At this age, the world has changed beyond belief
I roll with the punches, time is a thief
Here today, gone tomorrow, tears of gladness
Tears of sorrow, time is something we merely borrow
So far, I've done the best I could
Like my mother before me
My intentions were good
From: Uptown Déjà Vu
Summary
“50 Deep Breaths” by Jimmie Ware is a poem centered on memory, love and relationships, family. Its imagery is anchored in Arctic Ocean. The poem develops its subject through recurring images and shifts in emotional pressure rather than reducing the experience to a single statement.
Analysis
Voice
A personal, first-person speaker combines recollection with direct emotional address.
Style and form
The poem is line-driven, first-person. The poem moves by accumulation: images, references, and tonal turns build on one another, so meaning emerges from their relationships as much as from narrative sequence.
Themes and imagery
Its strongest thematic currents include memory, love and relationships, family, identity. Concrete images give those abstractions physical weight, while changes in diction and pace keep the poem from settling into a single emotional register.
Reading the poem
A productive way to read “50 Deep Breaths” is to watch how its images change function as the poem progresses. Details that initially establish scene or memory become emotional evidence. The result is a poem whose argument is carried through association, rhythm, and image as much as through explicit statement.
Explore this poem
Source & rights
Source: Uptown Déjà Vu
Rights: Copyright controlled by the rights holder. Published here with permission.