Volume 19 131Next, the speaker says she would bang cym-
bals like in a Chinese opera. Chinese opera makes
frequent use of percussion instruments. The persona
of the poem would also “roar like a Fellini sound-
track.” Federico Fellini (1920–1993) was an Italian
film director, famous for innovative films such as
La strada,La dolce vita, and Otto e mezzo (8-1/2).
Nino Rota wrote the music for Fellini’s films, which
contribute greatly to their impact. The two men had
a long collaboration, which ended only with Rota’s
death in 1979. The poem’s speaker says she would
also laugh like the little dog in the nursery rhyme
that watched the cow jump over the moon.Stanza 2
The speaker continues to address her absent
lover. If he were to return, she would be a clown
and tell funny stories. She would paint clouds on
the walls of her home—an image that presumably
expresses her desire to show artistic creativity. She
would put the best linen on the bed for him and ob-
serve him while he sleeps. During this time, she
would hold her breath, which is a way of saying that
she would be very quiet so as not to awaken him.Stanza 3
The speaker breaks off from addressing her
loved one directly and, using a series of similes,
muses on the beauty of her beloved. Her beloved is
like the “color inside an ear” or “like a conch shell.”
A conch shell is a spiral, one-piece shell of certain
sea mollusks or any large shell used as a horn for
calling. The third simile used to convey the beauty
of her beloved is a nude by Modigliani. Amedeo
Modigliani (1884–1920) was a French painter
known for his distinctive portraits and nudes.Stanza 4
In this stanza, the speaker returns to address-
ing her beloved. She declares that this time she will
cut off some of his hair, so that even if he leaves
her again, some part of him will remain. This im-
age sparks a memory for the speaker of how soft
her lover’s hair is, the softest that can be imagined.Stanza 5
The speaker continues with another set of ac-
tions she would perform if the beloved returned.
She would present him with flowers and fruit, in-
cluding parrot tulips and papaya. Parrot tulips have
petals that are feathered, curled, twisted, or waved.
The flowers are large and brightly colored. The pa-
paya is a tropical tree that produces large yellow-
orange fruit, like a melon.The speaker then says she would laugh at the
stories her returning lover told, though she could
equally well be silent in his presence. She knows
her lover is aware such an act of silence in his pres-
ence is normally hard for her.Stanza 6
The speaker seems to have no illusions about
her lover. She knows when he grows tired of her
or the place they live, he will leave. He could go
anywhere, and she names places far away and near:
Patagonia, a region in Argentina and Chile; Cairo,
Egypt; Istanbul, Turkey; Katmandu, the capital city
of Nepal; and finally Laredo, Texas, a town on the
United States-Mexico border with a large Mexican
American population.
Projecting into the future, the speaker imag-
ines what she will gain by her lover’s return, even
if he later departs again. She will have savored him
like a tasty food, memorized everything about him,
and tasted his essence (“held you under my
tongue”). She will have learned him by heart. Here
the poet plays on the usual meaning of the expres-
sion “learn by heart,” which means to learn by
memorizing. Since the poet has already mentioned
memorizing, this phrase placed here means that the
speaker learned all about her lover through her
heart, through love.
The speaker’s conclusion is that when her
loved one leaves, all her knowledge and love of
him will yield their fruit in the poetry she will write.
He will become her muse.Themes
Romantic Love
The title of the poem, “Once Again I Prove the
Theory of Relativity” is meant humorously. ItOnce Again I Prove the Theory of RelativityMedia
Adaptations
- Cisneros made an audio recording of Loose Wo-
man, issued in 1994 by Random House Audio.
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