.JPG) |
| { spur } |
“What's wrong?”
She asked like she didn't see.
“My leg's
Cut off from the rest of me.”
“Oh no,”
She said like a medicine.
“I know,” he said,
Like her needle was under-skin.
“Will it heal?”
“Not the half that's cut off, I
think.”
And she laughed,
Like some air in the kitchen sink,
“I'm no doctor,
would a hug work to bandage you?”
And he burst,
Like
the water
she
bubbled
through.
(Annie is a shy dog, new to the shelter. I lay on the ground beside her, giving her some slow affection, and then like an eaten bridge she collapsed into the crook of my arm. She slumped so worn and tired, but looked up at me every so often, softly. This is how healing begins – 29 May 2013)
ReplyDelete* Thanks David K. (glass-bead cook, excavation, clouds dappling city – Greece/Bulgaria), Julie P. (sun roof/rear view & tree overcoming fence), Angela A. (best donuts of my life), Kara O. (Sloane on swing – Laos) Hurricane Sandy (man carries dog), Andreas Serrano (“Blood and Semen V” – 1990), & Jessica S. (Summer solstice window-shopping) for making this collage full.
This one really struck me because of the way the words are placed. I read the poem again by copying and pasting into another word document to understand what differences I saw between the two.
DeleteFirst of all, there's a new voice that comes out of the conversation between the two, one of passion and the essence of the interaction between the conversation
Likewise, it really brings out the effect of the compassion that "he" feels and the healing power it has upon him. I'm curious as to why you chose the format you did.
Also, what was the inspiration behind the poem?
See the link beneath the collage ("spur", in blue)? Click it & you'll see who inspired the poem.
DeleteThe structure is meant to emphasize how protectively withdrawn the speaker is at the beginning (his voice far at the right) and how her words draw him draw him in like a safe embrace.
... And then at the end, with a burst of tears, he starts moving with her, at the same forward angle.
I really think the structure of the poem resonates personally and emotionally with the reader, regardless of the situation you are reflecting on in this poem. Since the poem is brief, it gives more room for interpretation. For me, the structure was, as you said, an emotional convergence of the speaker and "her". The structure shows the chemistry of the two people as well as the speaker's own emotions. The words that appear to turn to water at the end also elicit an emotional response, at least for me. Your explanation in the comment above categorizes it perfectly, the way that two people start moving in the same direction when they hit an emotional connection (whether its these two people or couples in general). If I may ask, what is the symbolism or meaning behind the cut off leg? The way I interpret it, it can be applied to any previous emotional injury, or even literal, that inhibits the speaker and prevents him from emotionally converging with her from the very beginning.
ReplyDeleteThe cut-off leg represents (physically) whatever gap or loss or lack-of-growth might keep a person from feeling whole and fulfilled.
DeleteThe tragedy of those holes is that they tend to make people defensive, hostile, emotionally guarded (like scabbing and clotting in a physical wound). And that reaction so often impedes the healing process.
So this poem presents an image of the cure beginning: a little bit of obstinate and undeterred affection, disarming the wounded individual enough for healing to begin -- a burst of laughter, inviting a release of tears.
To be honest, I didn’t understand the reasoning for the structure of the poem, but after reading your explanation in a reply, I see it clearly and I think it is beautiful and lends itself really well to the poem as “he”, “she”, and the speaker interact.
ReplyDeleteOver all other factors, I enjoyed the most the transition from natural hostility, unsureness, and distance to a feeling of togetherness, hope, and comfort at the end. This transition was made so seamlessly and organically that you almost do not take note that it is happening and even in so few lines.
It is a beautiful thing to be able to capture human relations and you did this in a touching and uplifting way.
human or *nonhuman relations (click the link under the picture! she was such a good dog.)
DeleteThe structure of this poem truly leaves and impression. The separation between the dialogue creates a palpable connection between the two speakers. Along with the structure, the diction was beautiful. When you compared the woman's voice with a medicine, I knew exactly what you meant, I could hear the soothing and therapeutic inflection in her voice and I could see how impactful that would be to a person in pain. However, it is interesting that no matter how remedial her voice may be, that lack of fulfillment could not be fixed. The spacing in the lines also gives a good visual of the emptiness felt by the man. The missing limb seem to represent what he is missing in his life.
ReplyDeleteLike the others, I was drawn to this piece by the interesting structure. The increasing proximity between the female and male dialogue clearly evoke their resulting intimacy. The man’s bitter and sarcastic self-pity about his loss is sharply contrasted with the woman’s innocent and optimistic perspective. He is burdened with knowing the harsh reality of having no leg, while she seems to exist in a state of blissful ignorance. But the man finds her upbeat purity refreshing, as he lets her break through the barriers he’s created for himself. This is the medicinal value to her affection. She is unconditionally kind towards him and treats him like any other normal person, blind to his obvious external disability, while he completely defines himself by his physical impairment. He is so consumed with the loss of his leg, a purely physical ailment, that he has developed an isolated, emotionally detached, and insecure self-image which has become a mental and spiritually illness. While the woman’s love can’t do anything for his leg, it has a profound healing power on his low self-esteem, which we learn from the woman, is the only thing that should matter in the first place. The man’s situation reminded me of Ishmael in Snow Falling on Cedars. Ishmael had lost his arm very suddenly in World War II to a sloppy and horrific amputation. Disillusioned by such an agonizing and unforeseen loss, his massive external wound has an excruciatingly slow healing process and leaves him with a literal inability to touch. The prolonged healing reflects his pessimistic obsession with his loss, and the physical obstacle demonstrates his emotional crippling from his extreme detachment and lack of intimacy. The man of your poem suffers from both, but the woman pervades his established boundaries and proves his wrong by showing him that he is not defined by his shortcomings. The solace of love and trust can most powerfully heal our open wounds of vulnerability.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Are the words supposed to look like a leg? It looks like a leg that is bent with a foot standing on its toes. Perhaps the physical tapering of the leg as it progresses downwards towards the tip of the toe also symbolizes the decreasing distance between the man and woman (and the man and his dysfunctional engrossment with his disability)?
P.P.S. To me, the title of the piece as a whole is about allowing people to come close enough to you that you can trust them even if your most vulnerable state. I found the dog video very inspiring, but was still unable to figure out the collage?
Well-read, well-said (strong writer, this one).
DeletePS - I didn't see that until just now! (so, no - it was, as you said, about the decreasing distance -- but now that I know it's a leg too, I'm gonna say 'yes.')
PPS - I'm so glad you got the title. Titles are important to me; I think a lot about them.
And the collage is me & my GF, with a bunch of symbolic stuff superimposed (an excavation site, a bead-maker melting glass, a tree growing through a fence & a man rescuing a flood dog, a paint-spill called "blood-and-semen" & a girl on a swing, the windshield of a whizzing moonlit convertible, and a collection of ridiculous-but-delicious donuts) ... you can play with that if your brain needs a scratch ; )
At first, I thought this poem was simply about a relationship between a man and a woman. However, reading your previous comments to click on the link at the bottom of the picture, a whole new meaning was exposed to me. The poem now seems as if it’s about relationships in general, not just about a woman and man. That those relationships can heal you, or at least treat the symptoms of a painful experience. They are the medicine. However, medicine doesn’t always treat the cause of the pain, many times it just numbs the symptoms. In my opinion, the real treatment must usually come from the individual and his psychological desire to get better.
ReplyDeleteI think that the structure of the poem is also very interesting. The holes in the structure seem to represent the emotional holes in a person. All those holes and words and images make up the person as a whole just as they make up the complete poem.
I was immediately drawn to this poem because of its “Hemingway-like” dialogue. The terse conversation between the couple is represented beautifully by the vast spaces separating the the couples words. There is a divide between the man and the woman as they are unable to connect on a deeper level. The man does not resent his significant other’s ignorance, he takes it in a healing way. If she is able to remain calm and unaffected by the situation, it serves a reminder to the man that his life still must go on. The exterior of the man also reflects his interior. As his leg is missing, so is a part of his relationship he longs for. The man craves empathy and understanding, but the woman is doing all she can. She is unable to give the compassion he is looking for. At the end the man bursts because he knows that a hug will not fix his leg just as a hug will not fix their relationship. The poem comes to one point at the end to show that the doubling of the leg and the relationship both end in the same place, they are both gone.
ReplyDeleteWelll, that's a dark spin on this one.
DeleteThe man is the broken on in this relationship; the one who is at a distance.
And the words, though they start far apart, grow closer.
And she is full of care and understanding (What's wrong, oh no, will it heal, a hug).
And his breaking (into tears -- see the title) comes from his sense of safety in her presence, ... like he doesn't have to be stoic and protective of his wound anymore.
When I first read this poem I thought it was solely about human relationships, but after seeing the video I understand that it applies to all relationships. The woman in the poem approaches the man without paying any attention to his wound. She treats him the same as she would anyone else. But he is obviously greatly affected by the wound and covered in self-pity. He views his wound as something that will change his life. It’s something that will now define him. The leg was a part of him and now that it is gone, he isn’t the same. As he struggles to make sense of his terrible situation, he begins to detach himself from what is really important in life. He views his leg as a burden and becomes closed off to everything else. But the woman looks past all the hurt and tries to bring the man out of his sheltered self. Her genuine kindness is like medicine, slowly persuading the man to realize that he is still whole and that he can heal. This idea was portrayed by the lines starting spread out and then slowly coming together in the end. The woman gave out laughter and love and in return the man slowly felt more and more safe. He gravitated towards her rather than pulling further into himself. By the end he reached the point where he felt safe enough to be completely vulnerable and cry, hence the title of this poem. Overall, the right amount of honest affection is the most sincere and effective cure for any wound.
ReplyDeleteI hope everything worked out for Annie. That dog deserves so much more than she has probably received. I’m glad that you were there to start her off on her path to healing.
I definitely wouldn't presume to make a medical claim as bold as "the right amount of honest affection is the most sincere and effective cure for any wound." But I think that mindset is definitely an essential factor in the healing process.
DeleteAnnie got rescued. Then she died a week later -- she had a lot of health issues. But she died safe and surrounded by caring individuals. And that, I think was at least a deserving end.
This poem really resonated with me, especially after I read that it was inspired by a rescued dog. But even before I knew that, I really enjoyed the truthful nature of this dialogue. It seems very realistic and humorous, even if the situation is not. After re-reading the poem, I noticed that the part that stuck out the most to me was "'Oh no,'/She said like medicine" because it expresses the idea that even the tiniest bit of sympathy from someone can really be all that it takes to heal.
ReplyDeleteThis poem first caught my eye because of it’s interesting formatting structure. I like the way the words start off extremely spaced out and slowly come closer and closer together as you see the boy’s affections for the girl become clearer. After having read the poem, I also noticed that the way the words slant in a downwards diagonal to the left could slightly resemble a leg, which maybe wasn’t intentional, but is still cool either way. I also felt the poem makes an important comment on the healing powers of love. Even the title "Safe enough to cry" illustrates that the girl brings a sense of comfort to the boy, allowing him to be accepting of feelings such as vulnerability and exposure.
ReplyDeleteOn first read, I found the beginning section of the poem quite simply entertaining. I found myself chuckling at what I took for satire of any attempt to fix a person as well as the commentary on what I took as social commentary on medicine. On a second reading of the poem, I found a new level of depth and significance that was heartwarming and uplifting. The metaphorical leg that is separate from the body and the power of human compassion expressed in the poem are beautiful and powerful images.
ReplyDeleteWhat initially drew me to this poem was your collage; I don’t think it is as bizarre as some of your other ones, but something about the coloring and the images within the sunglasses was not what I was expecting, and I was intrigued. I believe some other comments mentioned this but I can feel (and see) the love the woman has for this man– or at least, the compassion she has for his situation. For me, this poem does an exceptional job and drawing out these profound feelings with barely any words (poetry should be some sort of superpower in its ability to do that). There is a kind of pure ‘giving’ if you could call it that where the woman knows she cannot fix what is physically gone from the man, but she offers something intangible. It seems as though the man may be aware of this, but he cannot quite comprehend the entire situation because it is completely unthinkable, so the hopelessness is clear, and it seems he does not expect anything other than surface-level sympathy. What ends up striking home is that despite the clear, physical, disability this man has, the woman does not see him for who he is, and in the offering of her love, the embrace she offers is so much more meaningful. The bursting of the bubbles through the water as an image of the tears and catharsis and utter release he feels just emphasizes the relief of all the pressure that had festered inside of him because of his leg (or lack thereof).
ReplyDeleteI think receiving love is tangible, in it's own way. There's a palpable difference between a hug that's like a handshake and a hug that has an overflow of love behind it. You don't often start to cry when shaking hands... but a good hug will get you there :)
Delete