Whether They Have Forgotten

Whether They Have Forgotten - meaning Summary

Ignorance as Softer Sorrow

This short poem argues that uncertainty can be emotionally preferable to harsh knowledge. The speaker weighs possibilities—forgetting, never remembering—and concludes that ignorance protects feelings. Speculation and imagined miseries are described as gentler than a concrete, painful truth that is unyielding once known. The poem frames not-knowing as a deliberate, protective stance: conjecture hurts softly, while factual realization wounds firmly. Its tone is measured and resigned, presenting the choice to remain unaware as a pragmatic means of avoiding the fixed, painful consequences of certain knowledge.