"Getting Out" by Cleopatra Mathis

Lines 1-2:

That year we hardly slept, waking like inmates who beat the walls.

In the above quote, the speaker compares her marriage to a prison. She and her now ex-husband probably fought a lot, but what is supported by the text is that they gave up on the marriage. They did not feel the marriage was worth anything, so they basically cut their losses and parted ways. Even though they mutually ended the marriage, I think the speaker does still love her ex- husband, because line 18 says, "still I'm startled by men who look like you." When they got divorced, they still had feelings for each other, as lines 20-21 say, "yet I think of the lawyer's bewilderment when we cried, the last day." The speaker seems to think that her ex has to be lying when he says he is happy now. She seems to think that their feeling could not have simply dissolved.  The last line says, "we held on tight, and let go." The speaker feels that if they hesitated letting go of each other, there must be some feeling left. I think the overall tone is nostalgic. I think the speaker misses her ex but knows they just aren't good together.

Until Next Time,
Alysse