what do you see as the theme of the poem? (i.e., what is the author saying about our universal human condition?)

Wedding-Ring by Priscilla Denise Levertov

(Lines 1-4). Levertov writes from the point of view of the speaker, as though these are the thoughts in her head. She talks of how her wedding ring lies discarded at the bottom of a basket and compares it to having been cast-off into the well to be abandoned forever. She rejects the thought of ever wearing the ring again as it was once a symbol of commitment, happiness, and love. The idea that the speaker has removed her ring and abandoned it to the depth and darkness of a shallow basket lets the reader feel her pain of a marriage that has ended. It lies among keys to abandoned houses, nails waiting to be needed and hammered into some wall . (Lines 5-8). The speaker explains how she has left her ring at the bottom of the basket along with other obsolete items, such as random paperclips, unused nails, keys to abandoned home. As her ring no longer symbolizes love and commitment, she has cast it aside with items that mean no more to her than her ring does now. Just as these items are useless to her and will likely never be used, she has no hope of ever wearing the ring or repairing her marriage. It cant be given away for fear of bringing ill-luck. It cant be sold for the marriage was good on its own time, though that time is gone. (Lines 11-15). Because the speakers wedding ring no longer symbolizes love and commitment, it has now become a symbol of broken promises. The speaker is concerned that whatever causes her marriage to end will be passed onto the next wearer. She then wonders if the ring could be transformed into something different. Something that has nothing to do with marriage and commitment, but instead could be used as a token of friendshipMy wedding-ring lies in a basket as if at the bottom of a well. Nothing will come to fish it back up and onto my finger again.