The title is "Resume" as in what you submit for a job...but I don't know how to put those (') things in there :) Anyway:
"Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live." (Parker 581)
I chose this poem primarily, to be perfectly honest, because I understood it. I'm having a really hard time with rythm, and meter, and such. So, this poem is very simple, easy to understand, and a bit funny. Not that suicide is a funny matter, but we should be able to laugh at any situation, I think.
My thoughts: I wonder why she chose the title she did. "Acids stain you" (Parker 581). What does that mean? Stain as in the way a scar is discolored? Some of the lines in the poem state the obvious such as the river, gas, and nooses, but guns aren't unlawful in most places and I'm not sure about drugs giving cramps. The message at the end is a bit comical. It says to me "whatever it is that's your problem, the alternative is worse". Notice how she doesn't take the lecturing, guilting or damning route. Sometimes people respond better to a light-hearted message, I guess. Did she intend it to actually help someone possibly considering suicide?Interesting how such a simple, short poem can cause me to have so many questions, yet in ways makes complete sense.
Does any of what I said make sense, though? :o)
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Hi, Tonya. I agree about the humor in this piece. Somehow making fun of something so serious delivers a more powerful message than a lecture would.
ReplyDeleteOne of my on-campus students wrote an analysis of this poem as not helpful in contrast with a lecture. I can see her point. Yet, the sarcasm here suggests the speaker knows the cruelty and selfishness of suicide. To me, the tone suggests that this speaker is tired of the woe-is-me approach and really wants to fight back against the person selfish enough to try suicide.
Whether the poem would actually help, I suppose, would depend upon the reader, yet I get the sense that this speaker is (mostly) done caring. (If she totally didn't care, she wouldn't write the poem.) Personally, I think the tone might wake me up to the feelings of others. Nancy