The poem gives a thorough account of the reasons behind a final breakup “fight” by giving various hints about the relationship’s problems—a “drunken residue” of corks, the noise that is now replaced with “quiet,” the “misunderstanding.” The speaker, though, goes a step further—he/she considers ways to triumph over the failure by making something of the remains. The closing couplet then goes on to “make something” of the maritime language and imagery scattered throughout the preceding stanzas (“wake,” “watertight,” “buoyant,” “craft” and “raft”).
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