Two opposites — Summary

Asta La Vista BabyContemplative

Faint music, In the distance.

Drawing closer, To my existence.

A worthless creation, Cast away.

Returning now, Revenge at bay.

Velvet curtains, Silk sheets,

A life of riches, And luxury.

Compared to these, Pitiful beings.

Yet no one around, To so much as see us.

Works of art, Hung on walls.

Huge rooms, Lengthened halls.

Crumbling floorboards, Broken hearts.

We never had anything, From the start.

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The speaker seems to be someone who was thrown away, a "worthless creation" now coming back, with faint music growing louder as a sign of their return. The title's tough-guy farewell suggests the comeback is tinged with menace, though the poem says revenge is "at bay," so it is held back rather than carried out.

The middle sections set two worlds side by side. One has velvet curtains, silk sheets, art on the walls and huge rooms. The other has crumbling floorboards and broken hearts. Judging by the imagery, the speaker may be looking at both, or at a contrast between "us" and the rich, since "no one around" even sees "us." The ending is bleak: "We never had anything, from the start."

The mood is cold, bitter and lonely. Short lines and plain rhymes make it sound almost like a chant, and the feeling underneath is hurt as much as anger.

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