69 pages • 2 hours read
Poems & Prayers
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Section 12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Section 12 Summary: “P.S.”
The last section is made up of only one poem. The poem claims that seeking heaven on earth takes courage, especially given the knowledge that it will never be found. The search demands great effort and toil, yet it is a worthwhile enterprise.
Section 12 Analysis
The poem begins with the difficulty of pursuing heaven on earth—a “tough place to gain” (Line 5) that can never be realized. But the poem offers a turn in the phrase “To Yet” (Line 5)—a kind of toast in praise of the word “yet.” Heaven’s unreachable nature does not make the pursuit any less valuable: “yet, a privileged path” (Line 6).
The poem ends with the phrase, “just keep livin’, Amen” (Line 7). This brings the collection back to the beginning, since this phrase also ends “Greenlights Intermezzo,” the first poem. The message is that we have to keep going, as life unfolds for us, absorbing our experience and making the best we can of it.
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