Sexton compares Plath's suicide to an old belonging in the couplet, "what is your death but an old belonging" (54-55). The verse serves to express that the speaker is overcoming the initial shock of her friend's death. Comparing Plath's death to a former belonging implies that the speaker had a strong emotional attachment and understanding of Plath's suicide, but now it is more of a memory that lingers than something that consumes her mind every day. Despite this, Plath's death still had a profound impact on the speaker, as Plath's death unintentionally forced her to contemplate and reflect on her own emotions and thoughts about suicide. She experiences an emotional journey that places her on the other side of the death she once fantasized about. The term “former belonging” illustrates how the speaker previously dreamed and desired death. However, after experiencing the emotional shock of being on the other side of the death she once coveted, she reconsiders her desires. The tone shifted from one of mourning and longing to something she once desired, an “old belonging” (55). The sharp left turn that is conveyed in the speaker's tone expresses the emotional journey she has endured. Therefore, the connection between Plath's death and a former belonging shows how the speaker no longer wants this death, but she still remembers what it feels like to think about Plath's death.