Loss
The theme of loss is evident in a number of Pastan's poems. The presentation of this theme changes from poem to poem; however, its depth and sincerity is felt in each.
In the poem The Answering Machine Pastan presents the loss of someone close to her. The identity of this person is not mentioned, which emphasises the sense of loss, as they themselves don't exist in the poem. The time frame and setting, 'after your death,' reveals the nature of this loss - a permanent loss through death. The permanence of this situation is felt in her question to the deceased, 'Shall I leave one, /telling how the fabric of our lives / has been ripped before / but that this sudden tear will not / be mended soon or easily?' Although rhetorical, and possibly a question to herself as well as to the one she has lost, it shows that although there have been difficulties along the way, this particular loss is irreversible. Their voice 'on the answering machine,' is described in the metaphor, 'a fledgling ghost still longing / for human messages.' The noun 'ghost,' again emphasises the loss through death, yet 'longing' gives sense of life and a desire to regain the relationship that has been lost. Although this metaphor places the desire for reconnection on the deceased, it reflects Pastan's want for this loss to be reversed,
Another poem that depicts the theme of loss is After Minor Surgery, which does not reveal the loss of a person, but the loss of certainty and trust in the body. The simile 'when the body / like a constant lover / flirts for the first time / with faithlessness,' emphasised by alliteration, highlights the loss of 'constant' reliability, as this operation reveals something hidden or a flaw in the consistency her body displays.
Religion
While religious imagery is prevalent in many of Pastan's poems, the theme of religion itself does appear in numerous poems as the focus or subject of them.
'Angels,' as a poem really sets out Pastan's view of angelic figures and the need for people to focus on this lovely side of religion, rather than considering the darker side. Whether or not Pastan is presenting her own religious views or critiquing those of others is not clear. However, the message is. The opening line reveals that Pastan is 'tired of angels,' whilst the second stanza opens with the imperative language, 'Remember Lucifer.' She mirrors her description of the angel's 'great wings,' with the imagery of Satan's 'crumpled bat wings,' juxtaposing these two characters. This emphasises the difference between the "good," and pleasant side of religion, from the darker side. The last sentence states that the angels 'would sing to me in / my mother's lost voice, / extracting all the promises / I made to her but couldn't keep.' It appears that this view of religion stems from Pastan's loss of her mother, and the tone here is one of regret and tragedy, reflecting how religion seems to emphasise this loss, and did not help her.
The poem Faith is aptly titled, as the theme of religion and faith is central. It begins by dealing with faith in science, and more specifically faith in the person telling Pastan about the science and whether it is right. Pastan's basis for her belief system is essentially, 'I believe what you tell me,' but she still leaves open the possibility that 'God indeed created the world.' However, for this possibility to be believed, and Pastan to put her faith in it, she needs this person, who her faith is truly in, to tell her this is true.
Nature
In the poem The Death of the Bee, Pastan deals with the loss of the honey bee, whose numbers are dropping around the world. This aspect of nature is perhaps uncommon in poetry, yet is an underlying issue that affects a lot of natural elements, including the pollination of plants and flowers. Pastan notes that 'the biography of the bee,' emphasised by alliteration, perhaps to highlight how this issue is not usually considered but should be, 'is drawing to a close.' The recreation of a bee's life in terms of a story or narrative, a biography, presents them as important, living creatures in our world,equally, if not more, important than a celebrity or famous figure. Pastan sets out the consequences for nature by paralleling the fact that 'the buzzing / plainchant of summer / will be silenced for good,' / with the fact that, 'the flowers, unkindled / will blaze one last time / and go out.' The ending of the sentence, and the enjambent, here puts a finality on these events, showing a causal relationship between the loss of the bee specifically, and the consequences for nature.
Pastan continues the theme of nature in her poem Espaliered Pear Trees. Here she uses a lot of natural imagery, such as 'the bonzai tree,' and 'pear trees,' and uses it to make a comment on human nature, another branch to this theme, for example 'the cost of beauty is partly pain,' referring to the binding of feet for purely superficial reasons.
