This is the reason they sadly renew their promise to each other. Olds states to his lover "You're a little afraid I'll back away" (15-16) because she knows him well and loves him very much. The point of this statement is to show that she knows he has doubts about making that difficult final choice. The poet's use of "I," "you," and "we" guides the reader to know that the poem is in the first person. “What you don't want is to lie in a hospital bed for a year after a stroke,” (16-18) expresses the fears that her lover has made known. Olds has a way of bringing images to life, for example, he paints "without being able to think or die" (18-19). The structure of pathos appeals to the emotions of most people. These verses are literal in context, meaning exactly what is there