The Old Flame
The narrator speaks this poem to his wife. In it, he tells her that he has visited their old house in Maine, and that there is an entirely new family living in it now who have decorated it differently. He reflects on the memories of theirs that this new family will not be able to picture or see before declaring the change and positive forward motion in all their lives a good thing.
Man and Wife
In this poem Lowell reflects on his courtship with his wife as they both lie in bed. Lowell opens the poem with a description of the early morning, red sunrise that bathes them and their neighborhood in its light. Lowell then remembers nervously trying to court his wife when they were both in their twenties, and how she intimidated him. However, twelve years later they are together, for better or worse.
Epilogue
This poem is about Lowell's writing process, and the art of writing. In it, Lowell confesses his doubts and difficulties with his own writing, claiming that sometimes everything he writes seems garish to him, and he wants to be able to write the way painters paint.
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