What does the diction imply in "Earth Tremors Felt in Missouri"?

Words that Van Duyn uses in her poem such as “ordeal” and
“woebegone” are words describing the difficulties in a relationship such as that
exemplified by the speaker and the listener. Life is not smooth, but instead is an
ordeal that sometimes fills the two participants with sadness, regret, and all the other
negative feelings that flesh is heir to. These words help to emphasize that personal
affairs are not small matters for the people involved, but are so great that any
disturbance at all has life-changing implications. Other poets may emphasizes the
positive nature of these conditions; Van Duyn, in this poem, emphasizes the danger in
them.