The Story We Know is a villanelle. The overall meaning of this poem is that all relationships use the words hello and goodbye, except they have different meanings every time they are used.
One device Collins uses to add to the meaning of this poem is a metaphor that also works as a type of imagery. She writes "snow begins to whiten the air" the imagery of it is the snow literally covering the view. However taken metaphorically, the snow is symbolizing the covering up of flaws and mistakes. This is the "hello" to the new times, and the "goodbye" to the old times.
Another symbol Collins uses to add to the meaning of the poem is the "cold white sign of the way we all begin and end", which is symbolic of relationships and other meaningful things beginning and ending. The "cold white sign" is symbolic of something that both starts and finishes a relationship, such as a wave or a hug.
A second device Collins uses to add to the meaning of the poem is the repetition of the word "hello". It signifies that all encounters, no matter how strong the relationship, start with hello. The last "hello" also signifies that all relationships start with "hello", and end with "goodbye".
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