To a Persistent Phantom — Summary

The speaker is trying to forget someone who still haunts him. Each night, he “buries” her memory by turning to another woman—one with fuller breasts, stronger arms, softer lips, newer charms. But the repetition makes the desperation clear: these new lovers are not really chosen for themselves; they are tools for erasing the old one. The buried woman keeps returning as a “persistent phantom,” and the deeper he pushes her down, the more violent the image becomes—until her spirit would have to tear itself apart to climb back out. The mood is obsessive, sensual, and a little cruel. There is grief here, but also guilt and frustration. He wants to be free of her, yet the poem’s rhythm keeps circling back to the same line, as if he cannot stop digging.