Reaching for the Moon

[osprey_archer]

One Art
by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. 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, vaster,
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
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.


I just saw Reaching for the Moon, a movie about Elizabeth Bishop's love affair with Lota de Macedo Soares, which uses this poem as a framing piece. It's ultimately a sad movie, almost crushingly sad, as any movie about Bishop's life would have to be: she was born under an unlucky star.

It is perhaps sadder because it comes so close to being happy - because Lota and Elizabeth are so close to being what the other person needs, and when it's working it works beautifully. Lota builds Elizabeth her own personal poetry studio overlooking the beautiful grounds of the estate. A poetry studio, you guys! What could be more romantic? And Elizabeth reciprocates with a poem about how Lota's smattering of gray hairs are like shooting stars.

But at the same time, their relationship fails, and it fails not because of societal pressure but because of an inherent clash between their personalities. This is very much an unstoppable force meets immovable object match - only Lota, the unstoppable force, didn't realize that Elizabeth was immovable when they first got involved.

Elizabeth is an intensely withdrawn person, shy and anxious: she almost radiates a need to be taken care of, which is like catnip for Lota. But the surface weakness is only one aspect of her personality, and it masks the more important truth, which is that Elizabeth can't stand being dependent, and even more can't stand being depended upon.

She might be happier and healthier with someone taking care of her, but she would rather be free. Free, she may not live happily, she may not live well, but she will survive anything.

This is very much a case of "If you love something, set it free." But Lota can't bring herself to set Elizabeth free, and so Elizabeth ends up bolting; and it is Lota, the one who seemed so strong, who ends up crumbling.

It is a sad movie, but it's beautifully made. Miranda Otto's performance as Elizabeth Bishop is particularly stunning: so tightly wound that sometimes the tension simply rolls off her, spilling out of the screen. It isn't a fast-paced movie, but it is an engrossing one: one of the best movies I've seen all year.

Comments

[poeticknowledge.livejournal.com]

This sounds absolutely lovely! :) I have added it to the top of my Netflix queue! Thanks for sharing. ♥

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I hope you enjoy it! (I'm never sure if enjoy is the right word when talking about sad movies. I hope it speaks to you, perhaps?)

And I'm working on a response to your emails - I'm just trying to consolidate it all down into one email, so it's taking a little time.

[poeticknowledge.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :) I will let you know what I think of it once I see it. From what you've described, it sounds like a movie that would resonate with me. <3

Looking forward to your email! :) By the way, both of your packages are on their way to you from both companies and I also sent a card to you as well. <3 Enjoy!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I really love your observations about Elizabeth's nature, here; they're really food for thought--that one might have something in one's nature that demands a certain condition, even at the expense of a certain level of happiness. Yes, I think that's true of some people.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

There's a scene that sort of encapsulates the issue with their relationship: Lota has ordered a table for Elizabeth's poetry studio and insists that it should be in a certain place. Elizabeth protests once, then lets Lota put it where she wants it...and then moves it as soon as Lota leaves the room.

Lota wants to take care of Elizabeth, but for her that means controlling a lot of things; and Elizabeth isn't willing to give up that level of control, but she can't confront Lota directly about it, at least in part because Lota very rarely gives in about anything - but of course Lota hates this underhanded flouting of her wishes.

Maybe if Elizabeth could find someone who would look after her without demanding that level of control, maybe then she could be happy. But it would be hard to find someone with the right combination of traits.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

*nodding* Yeah, a person who could do that level of looking after--who would enjoy it--is likely to be a rather managing person, and that's exactly wrong here.

[konstantya.livejournal.com]

Oh, that poem. We went over it in one of my college lit. classes, and it's stuck with me ever since.

I can't say I ever read or learned anything about Bishop's personal life, but that movie sounds lovely (if sad). I think I'll have to put it on my "to watch" list.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I like some of Bishop's other poems, but I really think that one is her best work. I love the way the things she's losing grow bigger and bigger, from lost keys to cities; and then the biggest thing, bigger even than a realm, is the person that she's losing.

It is a lovely movie! I hope you get around to seeing it.