The poem
Marriage is not a house or even a tent
it is before that, and colder:
The edge of the forest, the edge of the desert the unpainted stairs at the back where we squat outside, eating popcorn
where painfully and with wonder at having survived even this far
we are learning to make fire
there is a missing line in this poem. after "eating popcorn" the poem goes:
the edge of the receding glacier
where painfully and with wonder
at having survived even
this far
we are learning to make fire.
without the glacier, the making a fire part doesn't make sense!
Dear S Sink, I personally do not think that specific part should be there, because without it, the poem still makes sense and can be analysed correctly. There also is no mentioning of the missing piece on any other website, and the poem is published in books just the way it is on this webpage. Therefor I would just like to know where did you find the information about the missing part, because it can become very interesting if the poem has been published incorrectly. Or the case can be that the poet did not want that part to be published, that she maybe edited the poem before sending it to be published. I would really like more info on this! Thank you!
The poem does not mean the same thing without the last line, perhaps your poem ended on the next page? The contrast is vital to it,though. In my opinion atleast
The version of the poem I have (In Understanding Literature) also includes the line about the glacier.
I love the poem amd it explains itself. Marriage is hard.
I really love the poem. I agree of the things being told. During our class, I encounter this poem.
It is true that "Marriage is not a house nor even a tent." That in entering a marriage life is not just building a house. Like eating popcorn? Oh it's not like that. They are many things to think and to consider. There are happiness and even hardships. It can never be an easy thing. Therefore, marriage life is a serious affair.
I agree, there's something missing in the poem. I have a book containing a copy of habitation and the receding edge of glacier was there. Anyway, this poem is really realistic for me. it only showed and expressed how marriage really is. marriage is not a game, not a play,rather, a very critical, serious, crucial and unstable condition that calls for a lot of effort and attention to work it out.