The title points to Proust's famous idea of recovering the past, but this short poem treats memory with more ache than wonder. It opens with a question: where has the time gone that was once "laced-up," as if tied snugly like a shoe, held together and ready to go somewhere? The question has no answer, and it sounds like someone staring at a gap.
Then the speaker states flatly that "we broke up / about matters of money." The plain, almost shrugging tone makes the split feel both ordinary and sad. A relationship that once seemed carefully bound ended over something small and practical.
The last lines shift. The speaker says his wife "was within" something "intricate as an ear," which suggests a person who was complex, folded, and hard to fully reach or hear. The past tense carries regret. The mood is quiet and wistful, with a bit of bafflement, as if he sees her complexity clearly only now that she is gone.