poetry texts, poem archive at plagiarist.com

my first impulse about its meaning is that it seems like shes looking back on the emotional state of a friend, prior to their suicide...

its probably more complicated than that, though.

In reference to Ziggy's comment, you are right. Rich wrote the poem about Anne Sexton, her best friend, after Sexton had committed suicide.

so far, it sounds like this is a poem about a person who was trying to save her friend from suicide. Could anyone provide a deeper analysis?

I don't have anything "deep" to say, but I think this is a nice, poignant poem about the tragedy of being the one who loves a self-destructive person and of being forced to waste one's energy on trying to help that person even after there is no use for their help.

If this is a poem about Riche's best friend Anne Sexton [who I consider my "favorite" poet], did she know Plath as well? I have always heard of Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath as close friends almost in competition over suicide, so I have never heard about this writer's possible relation.