My mother gave me the prayer to Saint Theresa.
I added a used tube ticket, kleenex,
several Polo mints (furry), a tampon, pesetas,
a florin.
This short but touching poem opens with this quotation. In it, the woman begins by describing the very first thing she was gifted was from her mother—a prayer. After this, she began to add to the collection. She then begins to list the items she now carries with her on a daily basis. These items—at the beginning of the poem—are tangible and concrete. They are necessities. In this way, the narrator is sharing with her readers the mundane, necessary items she feels all woman should have.
Here, now, today, in Toronto,
how did you find me?
How did you know I'd be here?
Once again, this quotation shows how the narrator’s obsession with musicians Leonard Cohen has devolved into a fantasy, wherein she believes that he is equally as obsessed with her, even though the two have never formally met. Because she has run into Cohen in an elevator by chance, she believes that he must have intentionally followed her there—must be obsessed with her. This is, of course, completely false; it is only by pure happenstance that Cohen happened to be in the same elevator as the narrator. However, given that the narrator is convinced that Cohen purposefully sought her out and followed her, this quotation is a perfect example of how the narrator’s obsession has unraveled.
Sudden, rich and startling
it turned my head
and such a flood of happiness was there […]
In this quotation, the narrator reflects upon an off-handed remark, which she made to her partner without thinking. She recalls the statement was rather dry, but humorous just the same. She describes her partner’s reaction as being “sudden, rich and startling.” This would suggest that their relationship has perhaps been a bit static and uneventful for some years. This rather dry, humorous, and off-handed remark, however, seems to have ignited something wistful and powerful within the two of them—reminding them both of the dynamic in their relationship when they were younger.
Remember that time in the Colston Hall,
how you sang only to me?
This quotation captures the narrator’s obsession infatuation with musician Leonard Cohen. Here, the narrator reflects upon a performance she saw in Colston Hall. She felt so connected to Cohen that she became convinced that his performance was only for her. Though this performance was not directed solely at her, and though she was but one person in an audience of thousands, she has developed an imaginary relationship when Cohen wherein he sees only her and values only her. Therefore, this quotation perfectly captures the narrator’s fantasy that Cohen is intimately familiar with her and loves her.
