# Again explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

The narrator recounts a forbidden reunion with a woman at the Mission, where their brief encounter ends with her cold dismissal and a mundane remark about her health, highlighting the futility of his emotional turmoil.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Communication

The narrator's longing and the woman's cold dismissal illustrate a breakdown in romantic communication and unreciprocated emotional investment.

### Deception and Self-Deception

The narrator deceives himself into believing she would send for him, only to face the reality of her indifference.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The narrator who defies the woman's request to stay away, seeking her out again at the Mission.

### Estee

The woman the narrator meets again; she rebuffs him with a calm, indifferent remark about her well-being.

## Key lines

> Again Well, I’ve met her again⁠—at the Mission. She’d told me to see her no more; It was not a command⁠—a petition; I’d granted it once before.

I encountered her once more at the Mission, despite her earlier request that I stay away—a request I had previously agreed to.

_The narrator acknowledges defying her wish and revisiting the place where they meet._

> As we parted with kisses ’twas human And natural for me to smile As I thought, “She’s in love, and a woman: She’ll send for me after a while.”

When we kissed goodbye, I smiled, assuming she was in love and would eventually call me back.

_The narrator's self-deception about her feelings is revealed._

> It was hardly worth while, all this keying My soul to such tensions and stirs To learn that her food was agreeing With that little stomach of hers.

All my emotional turmoil was pointless, only to discover that she was simply feeling well and digesting her food properly.

_The narrator reflects on the anticlimactic and mundane nature of their exchange._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters/again
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_se/chapters