"The Promise" by Sharon Olds

Section 1

The poem "The Promise", Olds, tells the story of the speaker and her husband at dinner, when they discuss the topic of great personal importance to them (221-222). During this dinner, the couple renews a promise they have made to each other: “we are at it again, renewing our promise / to kill each other” (lines 3-4). The tone here makes it clear that this is a grim ritual that a couple goes through an annual. In the next few lines, the speaker tells us: “wherever we are, we are also in our / bed, fitted, ...