Sax cites numerous examples of material objects being left behind due to human actions. He does this as a way to reveal how humans are so focused on themselves that they fail to recognize anything else in their path.  In the first stanza Sax mentions a women falling in love with a bridge but then brings up how, “no one cares how the bridge felt after.”  This example demonstrates how humans only focus on the present as Sax tries to emphasize how nobody cares about how the bridge feels after, but only how the women feels in the present. This example also connects to Sax’s thoughts later in the poem when he says, “we leave our objects behind us.” The connection here is that Sax realizes how human nature only cares about human nature and they take for granted any material possessions for their own benefit. Sax also describes how nobody cares about the process something takes when he used the analogy, “ everyone asks after the living but no one cares how the cotton sobs in my mouth.” He uses this analogy to portray the fact that humans could care less about the process and work that is required to get things done, and that they only care about how well it works.

One more example Sax mentions to emphasize his point that humans don’t care about the result of their actions deals with when nobody cares when, “ the poet fell from the bridge because he jumped.” Sax then mentions how there was nothing left of the poet after that which signifies again just how humans don’t care about the aftermath of their actions. Reflecting back on the poem, it is evident that Sax’s message is that humans only care about the present and what is right in front of them then the actual result of a thing or event.

 

Death begins an unknown topic for the speaker, as he ponders the idea of what happens after death. In the first line of the poem, the speaker expresses his interests in what happens after you die when he literally says, “I’m interested in death rituals.” This is the first piece of evidence that suggest the speaker is interested in death and it is the start of his journey of trying to answer an unknown question.  After this, the speaker “compiled a list” of “mourning practices gathered across time & continents” as an attempt to hopefully find the answer to the unknown question. This is a method the speaker used as he was frantic over finding out the answer.  After believing that he may have found a clue about death in the Neanderthals, the speaker comes to a sudden realization. Ultimately, he realizes that there’s no one single right answer and that some questions will never be answered. Which he reveals his belief when he says, “ I know everyone I love who’s dead didn’t actually become the poem I wrote about them.” At this point in the poem, the speaker realizes that he has absolutely no idea and what happens to people when they die. It is also at this point in the poem where he comes to accept the fact that he may never know the question just like he will never know what happens to his loved ones when they die. Therefore, the speaker by the end of the poem realizes that there is always going to be unknowns in the world and that some questions will never get answered.