For different people, depending on their lifestyle, routine, and even the place they live in, continuity means something different. Universally, continuity is a flow that is not broken and continues on. Maybe it is a good thing and maybe it is a bad thing. If you are happy with your progression, then continuing with this lifestyle is no problem for you. In Ari Banias’s poem, “Continuity,” he writes about living in Bay Area, California.
Banias writes about his surroundings and what he sees, but in a tone where everything seems unreal. “Trees are paper cutouts in relation to a strip of black paper scissored into a stiff, exact outline.” Everything in a way seems so exact and perfect. He then says, “you could just as well be a peasant in it—” as if he is stuck in a continuity he is unhappy with.
“How did you find yourself here?... you idiot.” Banias has lived in many places and he seems unhappy with his harsh tone. He feels stuck and like his continuity is too exact. I think at first this poem was difficult to understand in relation to the title because continuity could really mean anything. However, his tone and imagery helped draw the way he feels.
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