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I want to hug every {you}
in a black
coat –
Spongy,
beading dew,
holding slick
liners
and
Dry felt
enough
for the both of us.
I could
help you
warm
a black coat
Innocently –
floppy toddler / delicate oldie /
Stalk-tall, tender
toned beast
in
between.
There's nothing set about a black coat
–
a snuggle /
a crooked arm /
a warm
cheek
within
I could be:
Blank, it nowhere says
'no
room
for
me.'
* Thanks Laura (misty trees), Jeremy Lipking (“Skylar [young girl] in a Black Coat”), the unemployed New Yorker (1935), and designers/manufacturers of snuggy wool coats in general for making this collage full.
ReplyDeleteI initially read this poem before looking at the collage, then read it again with the collage to see what difference it would make. Not surprisingly, a greater sense of fragmentation and isolation was evoked with the addition of the collage. This depth of emotion and observance of the individual(s) in the black coat rekindled a innate sense to seek connections and support and care for others, despite the barriers, both physical and emotional (which I thought were represented by this black coat but please correct me if I'm wrong) that lie in the way.
ReplyDeleteWhat I was really curious about however, was how you construct the images that parallel the writing. What comes first, the words or the picture, or do they build off of each other? I had never thought to pair the two together, and as a painter have often felt limited by what my own hands can create and desperately desired some further form of expression
-Emily R.
The words almost always come before the images - but then the images almost always take me more time :)
DeleteI didn't write the coats as barriers, but as potential - empty spaces, blank canvases with no "KEEP OUT" signs, ready for any guest who can fit inside. Mmm, gotta love cold weather.
This was the first poem where the image really connected to the message for me. From your poem, the coat represents a open hearth of confidence and protection. It's interesting to take something that usually con notates to blockage.
ReplyDeleteThough the touch with the sunrise/sunset in the corner gleams of hope and a new beginning. In all of that, it seems welcoming, once again not usually associated with a leather jacket.
Is there a reason for this somewhat paradoxical comparison? I might be completely off, but this seems really compelling to me.
Well, I didn't really write it about leather jackets (which, I agree, are stereotypically not associated with snuggliness) -- this was more about those soft, felted winter coats, "Spongy, beading dew," which I find myself really wanting to jump inside when I see someone wearing one on a cold day.
DeleteThey look so warm and inviting, and way too big for one person alone.
So yeah-- no paradox, just simple impulse.
This is a comment on Arani's post: I think he makes a thoroughly good point that the coat referenced in your poem is one that imbues self-assurance and faith in the person who is wearing it. I think your description of it as an inviting coat is quite interesting as the color black is typically associated with melancholy or malevolence. I also found the aspect of a coat defining someone's personality and responsibility as an interesting aspect to your poem. My immediate reaction to the black coat and its traits made me think of physicians and their accompanying white coats. What is interesting is that until the mid-1920s, medical students who were dissecting cadavers were clothed in black lab coats in an effort to demonstrate honor and respect for the deceased and their subsequent contribution to medical science. However, in present time, it is evident that they wear white coats, and when those coats are first donned on them as students, it is meant to symbolize a commitment to ethics and compassionate care. While this fact is clearly an aside to the meaning of your poem, I found parallels between the aforementioned element of the white coat and your description of the black coat. Very interesting poem -- thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the versatility of this poem. It is not about any particular person, coat, or memory. It is about "every {you}" and there is "nothing set". The "you" could be a "toddler" or an "oldie".
ReplyDeleteAs a hopeless romantic, however, I imagined the connection to occur between two young lovers: the woman shivering in the rain, and the man standing there with an invitingly large coat.
I have always associated coats with warmth and protection, but never have I considered aligning them with companionship and endless possibilities. I think your perspective is interesting and reasonable, as the coat you are describing would be very large.
The structure of this poem first reminded me of a tornado, but I couldn't figure out how such a chaotic image made sense with a story about people cuddling together. Then I realized that the swirling shape could also be two bodies closely intertwined, which fits the poem perfectly.
-Samantha Pinsky
*I could be LIKE a "toddler" or "oldie" for any {you} in a coat.
DeleteBut I agree: I was sort of seeing this as an intimate emotional connection, brought about by a cold day. I'm kind of a hopeless romantic, too ;)
Here the black coat (at least in my eyes) is developed to act as a unifying symbol demonstrating that all sorts of unique individuals (floppy toddler, delicate oldie, stalk-tall, tender toned beast etc.) would choose to share the warmth of a large, cold-weather, black jacket. As a monochromatic object of the most generic form, the black jacket in itself holds no direct relationship to any one type of individual thus it becomes a symbol of a shared connection of comfort between otherwise disparate individuals; however, this symbol fails to hint at some of the harsh realities of human interactions. Nations fight wars, strangers yell at each other in the streets, drivers jump each other at stop signs, people lie for their own self benefit, etc. No “black coat”, no matter how cold the day or soft the material, has managed to really unify any set of individuals indefinitely under all circumstances. I hope someday someone will tailor such a jacket but, at least now, I have yet to see evidence of its existence.
ReplyDeleteIf you look for universal, everlasting solutions, you will always be left unsatisfied (I tend to agree with the popular diagnosis that most misanthropes are "disappointed idealists").
DeleteThe world is always ending -- being content comes from doing your best to make small, brief positive moments inside that unpredictable chaos (so go hug somebody in a coat, dude; don't worry that it's not a panacea).
In rereading my comment I see how you believe I am looking for " everlasting solutions ". This was not my intention rather I was attempting to point out that even individuals who are willing to display small acts of kindness towards strangers perpetuate the negative interactions we so often observe.
DeleteAnd in response to your statement implying I am a misanthrope I would like to contest your "popular diagnoses". Yes I am a "disappointed idealist". I'm disappointed because I believe humans are full of incredible potential that we squander (look at the scale of human achievement). We hold ourselves back and I wish for the day when we learn to stop the madness. If hoping for a better future for humanity makes me a misanthrope I may need your to clarify the definition of a misanthrope for me.
And the world is never ending, it is very much alive. Our strength comes from our ability to choose how we live in it. Call it teenage optimism but I think we can do far better than making "small, brief positive moments inside that unpredictable chaos". I would rather be disappointed in efforts to better our species than "content" in some microvictories involving a coat and some hugging, but then again I'm the misanthrope here....
Never meant to call -->you<-- a misanthrope, Stefan - I was using the misanthrope as an e.g. of the potential dangers of desiring too hard after universal solutions. Sorry if you took it personally.
DeleteIf you sincerely want clarification on what a misanthrope is: “misanthrope – a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society.” It's Charles Bukowski, George Carlin, my father and a million other dreamers / laborers / philosophers who tried to apply ideals practically to humanity and all reached the same sobering end:
> as Bukowski put it, “the next person you pass on the street, multiply him or her by 3 or 4 or 30 or 40 million and you will know immediately why things remain non-functional for most of us. . . . we've undergone any number of political cures and we all remain foolish enough to hope that the one on the way NOW will cure almost everything. / fellow citizens. the problem never was the Democratic System, the problem is you.”
> as Carlin put it, “Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit,” and realized, “By and large, [human] language is a tool for concealing the truth.” (he's also the one who said, “Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist.”)
> and as my dad, quoting my uncle, quoting one of his military commanders in Vietnam, puts it, “Humans are people, and people are no damn good.”
So yeah, I'd agree that it's teenage optimism (venerable and natural) which makes you want to believe that you can do better than make small, brief positive changes – that you can help to “better our species.” No dream, no social structure, no brilliant epiphany (not democracy, nor penicillin, nor wikipedia) will ever fuel or guide or develop us beyond our humanity – which grows violent and rigid when afraid, stagnant or parasitic when sated, and … in those precious moments of clarity and focus … truly beautiful.
I don't think you're a misanthrope, nor do I discount the value of your hopes. But if you don't learn with time to temper them, they will sour as they become more and more evidently untenable. And THEN, my fellow human being, your “disappointment” in humans' “squandered potential” MaaaY curdle into full-blown misanthropy. (and if you WEREn't sincerely looking for clarification in your second paragraph – instead just being a smart-ass – then unfortunately, you may already be well on your way to that misanthropy.)