"Getting Out" by: Cleopatra Mathis

While most poems that deal with divorces or break-ups have a tone of hatred and bitterness, "Getting Out" seemed to lack this. The speaker seems to build a tone of sadness and regret. She never speaks negatively of her ex, but instead she talks of his "yearly letter." To me, this showed that the speaker and her ex are still on good terms. She establishes her tone of regret by using no negative descriptions of her ex-husband and by saying things like "we gave up," instead of it was his fault and i hate him now as most people who have suffered a breakup do. She establishes her tone of regret when she talks about being "startled by men who look like you" and when they "cried the last day. Taking hands we walked apart." To me, this proved for sure that the speaker was not angry or holding a grudge because of her divorce. She seemed to still be in love in some ways with her ex-husband because whenever she sees men who resemble him, she only sees him. The speaker is definitely still in love with her ex-husband, but for reasons she does not give, their relationship could not withstand the problems they were facing.