Monday, November 22, 2010

Holding Back

Holding Back

Think of when you last held back,
felt some part of you holding you by the shoulders
or clutching the back of your own collar.

How does the division of labor occur.
What part dons police cap and badge, plays bouncer,
sheriff, boss. And what sliver of you

flares up in response, flailing, a thief
with a mouth tied directly to his heart. You are in possession
of dualities, but because they are cuffed

and move together, they could be mistaken
for one big being. They keep hoping you’ll let them swap
jobs, since they can access the same memories.

10 comments

  1. I always look forward to reading what you've dreamed, what you've pulled from these images.

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  2. I, too, look forward to reading another of your poems. This one should "speak" to many people, especially all the writers among us.

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  3. You have me thinking...another lovely and unexpected poem! Wishing you a lovely Monday! xo

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  4. This exposes our everyday schizophrenia with crystal clarity and humour.

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  5. Apart from the sonic and the syntactical qualities, one of the things I find enjoyable about "Holding Back" is the way the central line of each tercet is the longest of the three. This gives it, for me, an aesthetic quality that is at once sensuous and muscular, so that the process of reading and reciting the poem develops a strong pleasurable quality that underlies the poem's argument.

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  6. "You are in possession
    of dualities, but because they are cuffed

    and move together" -- I so often feel this way, full of dualities.

    Again, Hannah, you capture emotions and experience as only a poet can.

    PS: Happy Thanksgiving week! I'm 5 days until lift off for London...

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  7. That image is amazing. The last time I had my collar cuffed by me --tensing shoulders -- in an upsetting situation my neck flared up and I need to apply an ice pack.

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  8. I love this, the sound of it, your use of punctuation, and what it says. Again, you capture what it is like to be a human, conflicted. Lines like these, resonate: "How does the division of labor occur...," and the final line: "They keep hoping you’ll let them swap jobs, since they can access the same memories."

    The poem reads wonderfully aloud, especially the first two stanzas, and through to this line: "And what sliver of you flares up in response, flailing, a thief with a mouth tied directly to his heart."

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