"Is God being or pure force? The wind
Or what commands it? When our lives slow
And we can hold all that we love, it sprawls
In our laps like a gangly doll. When the storm
Kicks up and nothing is ours, we go chasing
After all we’re certain to lose, so alive—
Faces radiant with panic" (Smith 12).
This is the introductory poem to the whole novel, the first thing the reader will encounter in this collection and it is thereby able to somewhat set the tone for the following poems. The line which stood out to me most, and introduces an important motif, is "we go chasing after all we’re certain to lose, so alive." I believe this line makes the claim that we feel the most alive when fighting against the inevitable, Smith includes this line to communicate that chasing after the things we're certain to lose, combating destiny, is humbling and broadens our perspective. This relates to her inspiration for this collection, her father, who died of illness and she likely had a hard time accepting this, following which she may have felt humbled and been given new perspective, at least these are the connection I make from this line and this poem in particular. The title of the poem, "The Weather In Space," may also be a reference to the unpredictability and mysteriousness of life, just as the "weather" in space is not something we predict, assuming we are even able to.
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