A speaker comes across an old tie decorated with sea-green dragons on a gold background and falls into playful, teasing memory. It belonged to someone close—perhaps a lover or old friend—and the speaker asks, half-seriously, whether that person would still wear it, whether they still have the courage of their “pristine glories.” The other only laughs and shrugs. The tie once seemed like a fortune, worn in turn and even flaunted as a waist-belt. Now it is just a rag, joked about as a piano duster or shoe polish, too worthless for the dustbin. The laughter is bright and almost manic, but carries a bittersweet edge: time has turned cherished, glamorous play into something shabby. The repeated “Ha! Ha! Ha!” keeps the mood light yet tinged with nostalgia and the ache of lost childhood.
Jangling Memory — Summary
Heavens above! here’s an old tie of yours-- Sea-green dragons stamped on a golden ground. Ha! Ha! Ha! What children we were in those days.
Do you love me enough to wear it now? Have you the courage of your pristine glories? Ha! Ha! Ha! You laugh and shrug your shoulders.
Those were the days when a new tie spelt a fortune: We wore it in turn--I flaunted it as a waist-belt. Ha! Ha! Ha! What easily satisfied babies.
“I think I’ll turn it into a piano duster.” “Give it to me, I’ll polish my slippers on it!” Ha! Ha! Ha! The rag’s not worth the dustbin.
“Throw the shabby old thing right out of the window; Fling it into the faces of other children!” Ha! Ha! Ha! We laughed and laughed till the tears came!