A clementine
Of inclement climate
Grows tart.
A crocus
Too stoic to open,
Won’t.
Like an oyster
That cloisters a spoil of pearls,
Untouched—
The heart that’s had
Enough
Stays shut.
I chose the poem "Poem" by Jill Alexander Essbaum. This poem has no apparent rhyme scheme or even structure. I read a quote from Essbaum that said, "I don't try anymore to fit my poems into a fixed idea of what poetry is or ought to be--that's like cramming a size twelve ass into a size 6 dress." So clearly she did not intend for this poem to have a certain structure or rhyme scheme. The last stanza of this poem is what really grabbed me. It was so simple, consisting of only seven words, yet said so much. The whole poem is basically saying relationships that aren't meant to work are bound to go bad and once they do and you experience a bad breakup, it's hard to open your heart back up to someone and feel that vulnerability again. I thought it was interesting she used a crocus because a crocus is typically a symbol for glee, youth, and cheerfulness. Her second stanza is stating that someone who comes off happy and cheerful may not open up and let his or herself be vulnerable to another person because they are too afraid to show their true feelings behind the facade of happy. This poem is four stanzas, twelve lines, and thirty one words yet speaks so much about pain and vulnerability of a relationship that you could never understand until you experience it.
No comments:
Post a Comment