How Happy I Was If I Could Forget
poem 898
How happy I was if I could forget To remember how sad I am Would be an easy adversity But the recollecting of Bloom Keeps making November difficult Till I who was almost bold Lose my way like a little Child And perish of the cold.
How Happy I Was If I Could Forget - meaning Summary
Memory That Becomes Burden
The speaker describes how forgetting would make life easier, but a persistent memory — the recollection of "Bloom" — turns even ordinary months into hardship. Remembering transforms past sadness into a present obstacle that undermines confidence, leaving the speaker vulnerable and disoriented. The poem contrasts a wish for oblivion with the reality that memory enforces emotional cold and helplessness, ending with a resigned image of childishness and peril. Overall it explores how a single remembered person or event can erode strength and convert small losses into ongoing suffering.
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