Still Memory~ Mary Karr

 The poem "Still Memory" by Mary Karr is composed of 9 stanzas, each containing 3 lines. The poem centers on memory, as the title suggests. It does not, however, focus on one memory in particular, as many poems do; but focuses on the constants in her childhood, the things that were once normal. The first and last stanzas are seemingly removed from the memory, serving the purpose of introduction and conclusion. The intro stanza speaks about dreaming, using a dream as a natural lead into memory. The middle stanzas describe some of the consistencies in her childhood; which range from the house to the individual activities of mother, father, and sister, to the town and the house's heating, or lack thereof. The final stanza speaks about how the speaker writes about her life when she was that age, and how even now she writes.