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| (Try to watch this without smiling. I dare you.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=QePWGsGo6iE |
You could make it so easy:
“Come play with me.”
Life was like that in the school-yard,
When I was just out of diapers,
Still fresh with language
And dirt-skinned
With honesty.
If I had known you in that
Fresh sanctuary,
When holding hands was never
Compared to the last time,
Just done – sweaty and
Mutual (it should
Be so divine)
–
Then I would walk up,
Small lungs breezy,
And without no fitful elegance
Say, “I think we ought to
Hold hands. Matches
Do.” I should make
It so easy.
Remember what you ought to do in this day. Do as closely to that as you can with composure.
ReplyDelete*Thanks to Laura (the go-getter), Krista (the tongue martyr), and Katharina Salzbrunn (the Japanese guide to hand-holding).
Check out Katharina's blog, if you're not squeamish (http://why-do-children-steal.blogspot.com).
Her image collections have never failed to spur my puzzlement and empathy for the sobering, elegant, private and fraying edges of human perception.
I think “Tape-mouth ...” is commenting on the pressures and expectations of being in a relationship. When we were innocent children, we did what we felt was right without analyzing every detail and wondering if we were doing everything perfectly. When we were young, we had very few past experiences to compare life to so everything was new and simple. As we age, we overanalyze and read into things as small and simple as the touch of two hands. As a result, we become less inclined to do such gestures for fear of doing something wrong or being compared to a past relationship that went bad. We also are less inclined to say exactly what is on our mind or what we want for fear of not saying it with the right composure or elegance that the other person expects. It is no longer about what is said but the manner in which you say it. As a result, many people go without saying what they want to and keep their mouths’ shut, almost as if it was taped shut.
ReplyDeleteI agree.
DeleteThe collage was what initially attracted me to this poem, as I could not see how the images related to each other. After reading the poem, my interpretation is that it is emphasizing the way adults make life much more complicated than need be while children do everything in straightforward manner. It is undisputable that adults deal with more complex issues than children, like starting a romantic relationship versus asking a peer to play on the playground. However, making decisions regarding those issues is the same for both groups, they each simply make one choice or another. The difference is that adults spend much more time contemplating every possible outcome and how different people would be affected or react whereas children are honest to themselves when making decisions and act according to what they want, not anyone else. I believe the last stanza is showing how much easier life would be if adults made decisions like children. The speaker wants to starts a relationship with a girl so instead of beating around the bush he is straightforward and simply suggests they hold hands. In the end, making choices that are honest to yourself instead of acting as though your mouth is taped closed proved to have the most genuine and desirable outcome.
ReplyDeleteYou say "It is undisputable that adults deal with more complex issues than children, like starting a romantic relationship versus asking a peer to play on the playground." -- I would dispute that. We make it complicated, but it's still about being "honest [with one's self] when making decisions and act[ing] according to what [one wants]"
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