Bodenheim’s “Forgetfulness” speaks to forgetfulness as if it were a person or a presence. The opening comparison sets a bright, calm tone: forgetfulness seems even happier than apple trees in early light, waving leaf-fans and breathing in the mist. It sits inside the quiet surprise of a morning as it uncovers its wind-wreathed head. But the final lines complicate that peace. Beneath the stillness, “dream-heavy guards sleep uneasily / Over the body of your last slain sorrow.” Forgetfulness is not as clean as it looks. A sorrow has been killed or buried, but it is still being watched over, and the watchmen are restless. The mood is therefore gentle on the surface and quietly tense underneath—a morning calm trying to keep grief asleep.
Forgetfulness — Summary
Happier than green-kirtled apple-trees Waving their soft-rimmed fans of light And taking the morning mist, in quick breaths, You sit in the woven meditation and surprise Of a morning uncovering its wind-wreathed head. And yet within the light stillness of your soul Dream-heavy guards sleep uneasily Over the body of your last slain sorrow.