Bogan imagines a woman who wanted love to last forever, a permanence she only finds in death. She is buried among old stones, with untended stalks sweeping over her grave like young men running—suggesting both the passage of time and the lovers who never stayed. In life, the heart she loved had already known others; she could hear their laughter. Now she lies somewhere no one has lain before and no one will follow after. That sounds like uniqueness, but it is really isolation. The speaker’s tone is quiet and ironic: the woman got her permanence, but without warmth or companionship. The mood is elegiac and a little bitter, as if the epitaph gently undercuts the romantic dream of being the only one.
Epitaph for a Romantic Woman — Summary
She has attained the permanence She dreamed of, where old stones lie sunning. Untended stalks blow over her Even and swift, like young men running.
Always in the heart she loved Others had lived, — she heard their laughter. She lies where none has lain before, Where certainly none will follow after.