This poem really surprised me. The third word, “cemetery,” gave me the impression that the theme was going to be depressing and a sad death story. In fact, the antecedent scenario is the burial of Pastan’s family. Instead, the poem gives death a new meaning. She says, “I don’t feel sad for them, just left out a bit.” Pastan feels left behind because her family is buried in the same location together, leaving her living here on Earth. She feels the way a little kid feels at Thanksgiving dinner sitting away from all the grown-ups, at the “kid’s table.” Through their graves, they’re telling secrets, as they would during Thanksgiving dinner.
“Something I’m not quite ready yet to learn.” This sentence has such a strong meaning – even though her family is dead, her family is still keeping things from her, things that they know she shouldn’t know or isn’t ready to know. It’s a very powerful way to look at death.
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