12021-04-24T15:54:49-04:00"Separation" by W.S. Merwin, contributed by Maggie Chiffer (2021)1plain2021-04-24T15:54:49-04:00I have chosen to contribute the short poem “Separation” by W.S. Merwin because, out of the countless analogies that have been used to describe loss, I find the needle and thread imagery that Merwin employs to be particularly striking. Merwin captures the enduring and inevitable change that loss creates within us. A loss becomes woven into the fabric of who we are, and everything we say or do is thus influenced by that loss in some way. However, Merwin also uses this imagery to offer hope. Just as a needle weaves thread with a cyclical grace and ease, the weaving of loss into our lives, though never easy or painless, can also, eventually, become less laborsome.