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Forgot to tell you
That I was doing something else
when you were lonely.
If I had thought of you,
I might have come calling
but I was the only
One in my house,
Where the rooms are quiet
and sometimes calm,
Where eating goes
Quickly, and choosing games
is simple. I've fallen
For the easiness
Of this lack-of-you-with-me
in this life before.
I hope that you may,
Out in that day, some day, come
Break down this door.
Duckling monster!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome, right?
As good a description as any of the introvert, I think (some days).
This conveys how easily an introvert becomes swallowed up by his own matters. The speaker almost embraces his sense of self-absorption, and is not ashamed of it. He does not deny that he only thinks of himself because that has always been his nature, but regrets being inconsiderate and leaving others feeling lonely. He forgets that others can’t be as comfortable being alone as he is. So this poem is his half-hearted cry for help. He first explains how he’s crawled into this shelter and finds it so simple and easy to exist within it, that he’d rather remain sitting inside than go through the trouble of going out into the unpredictable and dangerous world. He recognizes that he is too weak to go outside himself, so he calls on somebody else, somebody bolder and stronger, to break down the door that he’s locked himself behind. The title suggests the different consequences of his lifestyle - it is cold and isolated from the warmth and intimacy of others; it is pleasant without having to worry about others’ problems; but it is also short because it is stunted and leaves him a selfish and detached recluse.
ReplyDeleteThere's a little bit of 'evolution' in this interpretation: "The speaker almost embraces his sense of self-absorption, and is not ashamed of it. ... this poem is his half-hearted cry for help. ... He recognizes that he is too weak to go outside himself, so he calls on somebody else, somebody bolder and stronger, to break down the door that he’s locked himself behind."
DeleteI would agree with where it ends more so than where it begins -- feeling helpless in a habitual rut is a far cry from embracing it ... like chewing some gum is a far cry for waking up one morning and finding it on your shoe, and realizing that THAT's been what's slowing you down.
I think this poem is an accurate depiction of what can often times happen in relationships. Here it seems as though the man is very comfortable with his solitude and the woman sees that and thinks it means he does not care about her or their relationship. This poem highlights the fact that a relationship cannot be maintained with only one side putting in effort. A relationship calls for both parties to make sacrifices and to try and understand the other person’s thoughts and feelings.
ReplyDelete