# CLXXXV explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

A brief reflection on the nature of retorts, suggesting that the most severe ones go unanswered simply because no one is there to respond.

## Key lines

> Our severest retorts are unanswerable because nobody is present to answer them.

The harshest replies we give are impossible to counter, but only because the person we aimed them at isn't around to respond.

_A wry observation on the futility of delivering cutting remarks to an absent audience._

## Links

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