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Critical Analysis #1
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an anniversary (a.k.a. too many posts for me)
| Critical Analysis #1 |
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an anniversary (a.k.a. too many posts for me) |
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roxane Senior Member
since 1999-09-02
Posts 505us |
tonight, i crawl between cold sheets and reflect upon a day three years passed since the beginning of a long romance where i was back then my face wrinkled with distress no, i banish these thoughts from my head a foible of mine to attack myself with guilt reserved for days notorious ahh yes now i remember february 23, he held his hands over my ears while i screamed because a memory of this day raped the sweet caress of his hand inside my velvet dress tonight, i fortify myself with insanity because this day to me treated with less gravity is all a laughing happy joke three years ago, where was i then? as i nervously scratch another hole in my head and biting the scraped skin on the edge of my thumb i taste a little metallic blood and then i really remember calling him into the foyer to explain where i'd been for three days three days which could have been three years and a little wild girl inside my head screaming and lurching tearing her clothes because of the place with cold beds, where bad children go today is my anniversary "Come night, come darkness, for you cannot come too soon or stay too long in such a place as this." Charles Dickens roxane |
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| © Copyright 2000 roxane - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Tim Gouldthorp Member
since 2000-01-03
Posts 170 |
Brilliant, even though I'm not quite sure exactly what its about. |
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Unknown Poet New Member
since 2000-01-05
Posts 7Sumner Washington |
I agree Tim it is brilliant yet I don't quite understand the meaning of it. |
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warmhrt Senior Member
since 1999-12-18
Posts 1563 |
This is quite a dark piece, roxanne, but a good one. I loved the phrase, "fortify myself with insanity". I think we all do just that occasionally. Good read. warmhrt |
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J.L. Humphres Member
since 2000-01-03
Posts 201Alabama |
roxane, Is this possibly a poem about a relationship with "the one"; which ended because of a three day (and this may need to be in quotes as well) fling with someone who wasn't? If not it seems to clearly be so to me. Regardless this is a powerful peice. Full of emotion and drama. I love it. J.L.H. We all go a little mad sometimes... --Alfred Hitchcock |
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roxane Senior Member
since 1999-09-02
Posts 505us |
i don't want to explain this yet, as i'm hoping that philip will look at it. i'm also intrigued to find out what it means for people, and that shows a lot about them by seeing what they say. i will give you a hint: it is not a "romantic" romantic anniversary. think darker. |
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John Foulstone Member
since 2000-01-01
Posts 100Australia |
A knockout, Roxane. Pain, pain, pain. While I don't pretend to know the exact detail of your horrible event, there are more than enough hints and awful images to make me cringe. Powerful. Something tragic happened in my life just over four years ago, and I've just buried it all. When I finally write it out, when I feel I can, I hope I can do as well as you've done. Thanks for sharing. John. |
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Poertree Senior Member
since 1999-11-05
Posts 1359UK |
Roxane Hey that's not fair .. heaping on the pressure like that lol. It was difficult enough interpreting your poems BEFORE I knew you .. now it's like treading through a minefield - so many possiblities come to mind .. and of course the title has introduced a personal slant which makes the whole task still more perilous. So in typical British tradition I'm going to sidestep the challenge of interpretation in favour of simply saying that I think that once again it is the imagery that dominates and "makes" this poem. The imagery, together with that curious flavour of half buried self-hatred that many of your pieces have ... stop .. I've said enough .. I'll mail and then maybe post more here later .. You know of course that, objectively, as a good piece of writing, I liked it immensely. Philip |
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jenni Member
since 1999-09-11
Posts 478Washington D.C. |
roxane-- wow. another powerful, stunning poem. i read it like this: three years ago, on february 23, the speaker began her long acquaintance (the 'romance') with mental illness, madness. she was sent away to a hospital or institution for three days. she was released from the institution, but has not been released at all from the illness, or her guilt. it haunts her to this very day... the anniversary, three years later, of that traumatic event... the memory "rapes the sweet caress" (oh, rox, what a phrase, wow) of the speaker's lover even now. tonight, the speaker lies in bed with cold sheets, as cold as those of the horrible institution, troubled by her guilt and her memories. am i reading this close to what you intended? if i am, i haven't completely worked out the speaker's relationship to her guilt, or her "insanity", or even if she really is insane, whether she merely believes so, or whether everyone else, or any other particular person -- the speaker's parents or a previous lover, for example -- merely think or thought so. to tell you the truth, everytime i read this it simply breaks my heart. i'm crying as i write this, rox, i can't quite articulate for who, or for what, but wow this piece gets to me. jenni [This message has been edited by jenni (edited 01-07-2000).] |
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Poertree Senior Member
since 1999-11-05
Posts 1359UK |
Good .. I'm glad it affected you like that Jenni coz I've had an awful day with this at the forefront of my mind all the time .... tribute to the power of the poem .. well done again Roxane, and I suppose I should say thank you for an awful day  , you have mail btw.P PS You may well right Jenni but maybe the dates are a bit funny if we interpret "today" as literarily TODAY then the incarceration would have taken place on 6 January. Maybe the reference to February 23 is a reference to a few weeks later when a moment with a friend was ruined by the memory of before. Anyway I'm not sure that there isn't a bit more to this ... the title puzzles me .. [This message has been edited by Poertree (edited 01-07-2000).] |
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jbouder Member Elite
since 1999-09-18
Posts 2534Whole Sort Of Genl Mish Mash |
Roxanne: I must say two things: (1) this poem is extremely interesting and (2) I don't have the foggiest idea what is going on. Reading Jenni's interpretation, I am inclined to believe she is onto something. But even though I cannot put the puzzle together completely, I was impressed with such a feeling of dread that I had to read this poem over and over again to try to figure it out. I will be checking back here for your interpretation. Skillful work, here. Jim "If I rest, I rust." - Martin Luther |
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Brad Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705Jejudo, South Korea |
I agree with what has been said and find the poem has an unusual conversational strength, even a scatterbrained style that compliments the theme very well (not too big on "days notorious" though). The last line brings everything together in a focus that is a striking contrast to the rest of the body -- ah screw trying to sound erudite -- it's just a killer way to end the poem. Hmmm, I agree with Jenni on the three days part in a way but the last line would mean that something had to trigger those three days of being missing. I was inclined to go with 'rape' (and thus have still another killer line that Jenni mentioned be both literal and metaphorical at the same time)-- 'memory of this day raped' and 'raped the sweet caress . . . .' I also think it could mean an attempted suicide but I can't but wonder if I'm reading into this a bit as a result of a certain 'encounter' we had a while back. Waiting to be enlightened, Brad |
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roxane Senior Member
since 1999-09-02
Posts 505us |
shall i treat this piece as fiction, so as to not cause philip another bad day, or make jenni cry? the first part is basically the onslaught of remembering the narrator's stay in a mental hospital. she starts to reflect, it becomes too painful, and then she says it is a fault of hers that she only remembers these days on anniversaries. but then she remembers a night at a school dance, coming home, sitting in her new boyfriend's lap, while his hand in her dress, she hears a song that was played over and over in the institution. he holds his hands over her ears as she screams, thus ruining the moment between the two. the second part, at least the first half, treats the day more casually. she decides not to meditate on this subject, but to revel in it, thus "fortifying" herself with insanity. but she is not all cured, as she nervously scratches her head again, causing it to bleed, and bites the skin off her thumb. she tastes the blood and then remembers truly why she was there, which is as expected, suicide attempts. then she remembers calling her boyfriend into her foyer to explain where she had been for three days, another awful feeling. the three days as three years part is pretty obvious, but she then states that while there may have been problems for her before, she now has this wild thing inside her, violently lashing out because it never recovered from having gone. but i have to tell her happy anniversary, because it changed her, and therefore it is important. i'm glad that the poem was generally enjoyed, sorry for the bad feelings, and i hope that the mystery of it doesn't take away from it. |
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patchoulipumpkin Member
since 2000-01-01
Posts 196Bermuda |
Cool poem, it was interesting, and filled with so many savage images that recalled horror films, its really a harrowing poem, but beautifully done. Really excellent. I have my own interpretation of it, which was somewhat spoiled in that you let the cat out of the bag, but nonetheless i will hold onto it for myself. Thanks for the poem, good. |
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