I Breathed Enough to Learn the Trick,

I Breathed Enough to Learn the Trick, - meaning Summary

Appearance Versus Inner Reality

The speaker says she has learned to imitate breathing so convincingly that outward signs mask an inward stillness. Others would need to probe beneath the surface to discover the truth. The poem sketches a contrast between appearance and inner reality, suggesting practiced self-control, concealment, and a dissociative calm in pretending to be alive. The final image of cool "bellows" mixes mechanical imagery with a detached, almost clinical pleasure in the performance.