Out — Summary

out with joy that kind unaptness for business

out with light and other profits for the people

out like falling into God or prejudice out of years out of service

out to leave our company a room so small that arguments seldom get in

out for the alone hours out for a drink and cry out

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Bonta plays on the many meanings of the word "out," repeating it until it becomes a kind of chant. Sometimes it means going outside, sometimes being switched off or finished: "out of years," "out of service." Other lines sound like leaving the world of work and obligation behind. The "unaptness for business" suggests someone who is happier with joy than with profit, and who turns down "light and other profits" in favor of something less measurable.

The speaker seems to want solitude, though not a bleak kind. "A room so small / that arguments seldom get in" is a funny, tender image of retreat, where quarrels simply can't fit. Yet the ending, with its "drink and cry," admits some sadness. The final lone "out" can read as an exit, an exhaustion, or a release. The mood is wry, weary and quietly freeing, like someone stepping away from the noise to breathe and, perhaps, to grieve a little.

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