Book: The Story of Our Lives

Introduction
"The Story of Our Lives" by Mark Strand is a collection of thirty-two compelling poems released in 1973. It checks out themes of identity, presence, death, time, and memory, analyzing the individual's effort to understand their lives. Each poem records minutes of introspection and self-analysis in relation to the ever-changing world around them.

Styles and Poetic Techniques
Among the dominant styles in the collection is the person's struggle for identity in the face of personal and social changes. Mark Strand deftly uses numerous poetic methods, specifically images and repeating, to question the fallibility of memories and identity and the inevitability of vulnerability and alienation. His work frequently includes surreal images, juxtaposing ordinary scenes with abstract ideas and events.

Time and Mortality
In "The Story of Our Lives", the passage of time and the fleeting nature of human life are constant reminders of the inescapable progression towards death. Strand explores the feelings of uncertainty and the impermanence of presence through his often brilliant representations of human vulnerability and alienation.

For example, in his poem "In Celebration", Strand describes the ephemeral nature of time as the poem advances, "In time and air/ what the loosened up nut anticipated/ fell away/ into the air of basic experience". The passage of time is also checked out in "The Coming of Light", in which the speaker notes, "Even this late it happens/ the coming of love ... It concerns each people/ continued life/ of having lived".

Memory and Personal Experiences
In lots of poems, Strand explores the connection in between memory and individual experiences. He suggests that our recollections of past events can be undependable, eventually shaping the way individuals view and translate their lives. In "For Jessica, My Daughter", the speaker reveals concern for his child's future relationship with her memories, understanding that they will not be as stable as he would like them to be.

Some poems consist of nostalgic and melancholic reflections on youth experiences, which contribute to the expedition of themes such as loss, change, and memory. For instance, in "My Mother on an Evening in Late Summer", the speaker remembers his mom singing in their house, recording a moment in time where specific experiences and feelings are intertwined: "For she would sing/ and I would in my weariness/ understand that someplace, because dark,/ stood a little boy who wanted/ once that it would always be night".

Existence and Identity
Throughout the collection, Strand invites the reader to question their existence, identity, and the world around them. The poem "Where Are the Waters That Come In the Mirage?" touches upon the displacement and unpredictability felt within one's identity: "Imagine yourself ending up being thin/ and without substance in a foreign place./ Imagine the whispering of mirrors/ when we rely on them for fact".

In "The Room", the speaker confronts the limits between his own reality and the external world, providing a thought-provoking reflection on how individuals analyze their surroundings and relationships: "I have seen the two/ of you/ together in one mirror,/ and your eyes have moved/ through its glass together in sync .../ How odd to know this/ and not be able/ to reclaim the world inside".

Conclusion
Mark Strand's "The Story of Our Lives" supplies an expressive expedition of the person's experiences and the obstacles dealt with in comprehending one's own identity. Through his usage of vibrant imagery, thought-provoking themes, and the evaluation of the inseparable connection in between presence, identity, and memory, Strand welcomes the reader to take part in a philosophical and reflective dialogue about life and the world around them.