.JPG)
Having announced, “Never, nothing,”
A harlot grew round on
Sometimes something
Musical & not.
*
Complacency – you're never told
Happiness is androgyny:
Heartache, anger, revelry
Vying eternally, yearningly.
*
Every sky, every heart, every dream
Rains itself out once in a while –
Yet into that empty moment (thinner
than full)
Nimbus white, oxygen red, eyelid orange
pools.
*Thanks H, C, E, Val (cat hug), and Jessica (Winter sunset) for making this collage full.
ReplyDeleteThe title of “Three Valentines” and the three stanzas of the poem are telling three different instances of the heartache that the author is feeling. The poem starts off in 3rd person omniscient and is telling the story of a harlot who, based off my understanding, is pregnant. “Sometimes something” happened to this woman who was told “never, nothing” and she’s left with the responsibilities and reputation as a harlot. It reminds me of The Scarlet Letter because of the unfair views of women who aren’t completely responsible for instances like these. The mention of “Musical” in the stanza lightens up the subject in my opinion because it shows a contrast behind the otherwise negative representation of the harlot. Moving onto the 2nd stanza, the point of view switches into 2nd person, with an unidentified “you” being addressed. This makes the reader more susceptible to relating to the author and understanding his view. In this stanza he creates a very downcast view on a commonly positive “happiness.” He claims it is “vying eternally” which makes me feel like he’s saying that it takes over one’s life and doesn’t leave one alone. By describing it as “heartache” and “anger” he’s making this good thing evil. In my opinion the narrator went through some kind of horrendous heartbreak that lead him to have such negative views on a good thing. Finally, in the 3rd stanza the author is illustrating that dreams and love get squished to death and become shells of what they once were. Then there are some color images, which frankly confuse me quite a bit. I’m not sure what they mean despite filling the empty space that the crushed dreams left. One of my theories is that this leaves the poem with a little bit of hope, but that might just be me wanting a happy ending. Overall this poem on Valentines takes a commonly happy and joyous things like love and dreams and villainies them.
ReplyDeleteDude-- these WERE supposed to be positive Valentines. Realistic, but comforting.
DeleteSaying that contentment in life isn't all butterflies and roses isn't "vilifying happiness," it's just saying that even if you're not in some amazing Romantic relationship on Valentine's day doesn't mean you aren't part of love's tides in this world (the coming smile of a baby, the contentment of accepting this life's to-and-fro emotions, the refreshing in-breath after a good cry at sunset).