On her own terms June 27, 2012
While not at all lighthearted, the poem she posted today was
less intense than many of her previous poems, and at first glance does not seem
to be about me or our situation. Though as you get deeper into the poem, which
is essentially saying she wants to live her life on her own terms, the message
seems to repeat a statement she had made more directly to me in other poems.
The poem is essentially a character profile of a neighborhood
character, she sometimes sees making her way up the street, someone outrageously
dressed, listening to music on her Walkman or boom box, while making her way to
the local grocery store – the woman’s outfit and example of what a woman her
age should not be wearing.
Other people start at the woman, sometimes in disgust. But
the woman clearly does not care about what other people think, and the poet,
sitting in her kitchen window looking out, gets less depressed from seeing this
woman, finding inspiration in this strange woman.
There is contrast between the woman and those who would pass
judgement on her, she dressed in pinks and blues and bright green, wearing a
flower in her hair, while those who judge her are dressed darkly and possess “darker
souls.”
In this, the poet seems to be making reference to our
conflict.
The poem is about the woman and by default, the poet, needing
to live her life, whole those who pass judgement are malevolent beings bent on
destroying this woman’s joy. The woman refuses to be intimidated, a lesson
perhaps for the poet, that she should not have her joy ruined by judgements
other people (like me) make, by those (like me) with dark souls.
This seems appropriate since she (the poet) has made similar
statements in other poems which were directly aimed at me. She just wants to
get on with her life and live that life in the way she wants.
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