The narrator of the poem acts as an observant guide through the process of memory loss and aging. He tracks the migration of forgotten facts to a metaphorical fishing village and watches the progression toward a mythological river. He maintains a gentle, humorous tone that softens the inevitability of mental decline, offering understanding rather than panic to his subject.

The poem's addressee acts as a stand-in for both the reader and a projection of the poet. This individual experiences a systematic loss of knowledge, ranging from quadratic equations to the capital of Paraguay. Despite desperate attempts to retain information by waking at night to study historical dates, the subject moves steadily toward a state of complete oblivion.

A conceptual figure representing the initial stage of memory loss. He initiates the cascade of forgotten items, acting as the first casualty before the title and plot follow suit. This figure embodies both the loss of creative connection and the underlying fear of fading into insignificance.