Living in the present is the first step a couple should make to pursue a healthy relationship. Worrying too much about the what ifs and possibilities of a break up should not become a burden to the relationship. In Kim Addonizio’s “First Poem for You”, the fear of breakups and sour relationships is shown throughout the poem (). Scholar Christopher Porre had a similar analysis: “During the fourteen lines of the poem the speaker fascinates her/himself with the tattoos of her/his lover, at times expanding on the specific imagery of the tattoos, at others meditating on the blue ink’s permanence in comparison with love’s tendency to “[turn] to pain” (Addonizio, The Philosopher’s Club Line 12)” (Porre 1). Addonizio uses imagery and symbolism to represent the pain that a relationship can bring Water symbolizes purity in this poem with lines 5-6, “The blue swirls of heart on your shoulder” (Addonizio 5-6). The speaker knows exactly where these blue swirls of water are at, on his shoulder close to her lover’s heart. Andri Hermawan has similar insight to these lines as well, stating: “ The word water stands for a symbol which relates to her boyfriend’s love as its object. In Kim Addonizio’s poem, the meaning of the word water is pure love. In “First Poem for You” Kim Addonizio knows that just above his shoulder are the blue swirls of water ” (Hermawan 28). Hermawan also describes how the partner’s lightning tattoo symbolizes the power of love. The lightning bolt is almost like a heartbeat; with lines moving up and down, such as when a person’s heart rate increases and decreases when nervous or excited (Hermawan 26). Another tattoo described in details is the “serpent facing the dragon” ( Addonizio 6). The serpent is a symbol of fearlessness; this tattoo shows the speaker’s partner is not afraid of what is to come in life, including the future of their relationship (Addonizio
As humans, the journey through life means forming emotional attachments to each other. The first type of attachment we form is with our family. Eventually, people grow older and form emotional attachments to individuals outside the family, as friends. Then later in life, the possibility of developing romantic relationships can arise. However, each person at some point must face the reality that the people they have bonded with will depart this world. Similarly, one must also deal with the new assortment of emotions that follow after a passing or separation. In Lydia Davis’s poem “Head, Heart”, she depicts a conversation between a head and a grief-stricken heart, which represents the internal conflict between logic and emotion following a separation
Kim Addonizio's poetry highlights the microscopic detail into the mortality of the human condition, rebellion, and love. Her themes ranged from sexual sensation to rock n roll rebellion, which was all delivered in a witty format. Addonizio’s poetic meter is delivered in a syncopated blues rhythmic measure comparable to that of the lyrics of the classic blues artists like Skip James where a continuing series of musical notes are overlapped by a repetition of lines that gradually or minorly change through progression. This style is most notable through her fixed form poetry, such as sonnets. So it is only natural that her lyrical poetry is complimented well in accordance of the blues band playing as she simultaneously reads. Addonizio's physique,
In literature, darkness is often symbolically associated with fear and the unknown. The speaker establishes her fear of the tattoos in the beginning of the poem, as she comments that “I like to touch your tattoos in complete darkness, when I can’t see them.” She approaches the tattoos with a sense of cautiousness as she acknowledges the existence of the tattoos “in complete darkness” without actually seeing the tattoos. In doing so, the speaker attempts to come to terms with the permanence of the tattoos without having any visual contact. Her fear of the tattoos’ permanent nature is reinforced at the end of the poem, where she comments that “Such permanence is terrifying. So I touch them in the dark; but touch them, trying.” The speaker explicitly states her perspective on the permanent quality of tattoos, as she explains that “such permanence is terrifying. Her fear of the permanence of tattoos has an underlying a tone of wonder, as she spends a majority of the poem admiring the tattoos, claiming that she “love[s] to kiss the pictures in your skin”. By commenting at the end of the poem that she is terrified after reminiscing about the tattoos with fondness, it is suggested that there her fear has an underlying sense of wonder, and that she aspires that her relationship will persist much like the
In this poem, Kim Addonizio displays the theme of desire and need, in particular a woman’s desire, and she uses a red dress as a metaphor to make her point. In the poem rather than her making it seem mysterious or like there is a hidden message, the poem is straightforward and to the point. She declares her point in the very first line of the poem when she answers the question in the title to: “I want a red dress.” This simple statement paints a picture in the reader’s mind and it says so much in so little words. This is what the poem is about, Addonizio is telling us, the image of the red dress is important.
This passage marks the first of several types of love, and gives us an intuitive
The poem “First Poem for You” is definitely about love. Tattoos and poetry are abundantly alike. The poem speaks about how the author is contemplating the security of her relationship. They lie in the dark which could suggest that the speaker is a bit confused about their relationsh...
Love can be both painful and pleasurable. This is something anyone can relate to and understand deeply. Love can bring contentment and joy in the past and it can also bring heartache and pain in the future. In Edna St, Vincent Millay’s poem, “ONLY UNTIL THIS CIGARETTE HAS ENDED,” we see that the speaker is having a cigarette whilst contemplating her lover. Edna St. Vincent Millay uses symbolism, diction, and figurative language in her poem to suggest that the speaker has a painful time moving on and forgetting the lover, even though the lover has already moved on.
Explore how two of the poems you have studied deal with the theme of looking back on a relationship The two poems I have chosen to explain are Piano by D H Lawrence and In Mrs Tilchers Class by Carol Ann Duffy I have chosen these two. poems because they both tell us about the same sort of memory, i.e. of a good time in their childhood. Moving on to the mood of the poem. Both poems are very emotional and Although they are both happy memories, the emotions vary, for example. in Piano the poem is very sad and nostalgic 'till the heart of me.
Our passage through life means developing inevitable emotional attachments towards other people. The first attachment we develop is with our parents. Eventually, people develop emotional attachments towards individuals outside the family, as friends. Then later in life, the opportunity to develop romantic attachments can occur. In time, people realize there is a limited amount of time they possess among loved ones. Similarly, people must learn how to cope when their time has expired with them. In Lydia Davis's poem "Head, Heart", she describes an internal conflict between logic and emotion following heartbreak in which she describes the head trying to get the heart to move forward.
Beloved describes the struggle and challenge of former slaves trying to deal with an unforgettable past. Their brave journey carries them through tragic times full of torment and torture, and joyful times full of love and tenderness. Beloved teaches the lesson of never giving up. Water denotes a change for the better--from dirty to clean--where a person rebounds from life's tragedies. It symbolizes hope and reassurance that life will improve.
Most of our lives consist of interacting and socializing with others, which consists of beginning new relationships and strengthening old ones. Love is everywhere; it is all around us, provided in different categories such as parental also known as family love, and "romantic love," between two individuals. Different kinds of love are experienced in specific ways; therefore each has to be approached in a particular way. However, all of them share one common quality that they are unpredicted, unplanned, and unexpected. This is what gives love its quality that everyone craves for. Different poets relate to distinct kinds of love in different ways. The greater intensity of feeling will lead to the greater fear of losing which in other words mean that the more you love someone, the more worries and fear you have in losing them.
As a somewhat alternative college student with a few tattoos throughout my body, as well as plans to get several more, I really enjoyed this short memoir piece. The first lines reads, “In my early twenties, I had a habit of getting a tattoo after breakup.” As a person who enjoys getting tattoos, I identified with this. I have this same urge to get tattoos whenever something negative happens in my life, but my lack of funds makes it impossible for me to do so. So I could only imagine if I was capable of getting tattoos like this every time I felt the urge to do so, and this is the imaginary situation that was presented in this story.
This poem has captured a moment in time of a dynamic, tentative, and uncomfortable relationship as it is evolving. The author, having shared her thoughts, concerns, and opinion of the other party's unchanging definition of the relationship, must surely have gone on to somehow reconcile the situation to her own satisfaction. She relishes the work entailed in changing either of them, perhaps.
"I cannot live with You", by Emily Dickinson, is an emotional poem in which she shares her experiences and thoughts on death and love. Some critics believe that she has written about her struggle with death and her desire to have a relationship with a man whose vocation was ministerial, Reverend Charles Wadsworth. She considers suicide as an option for relieving the pain she endures, but decides against it. The narrator, more than likely Emily herself, realizes that death will leave her even further away from the one that she loves. There is a possibility that they will never be together again.
Love defies the test of time and endures when all things suggest its demise. Against odds, lovers meet, and in line with fate, lovers fall apart. The levels of love, and the numerous reactions to those relationships, help determine if and when the relationship will end. Though factors tear two people apart, the love does not always die. These ideas appear time and again, such as in Boccaccio’s The Decameron (the fourth day, first tale) or Virgil’s The Aeneid. Ideals of love and admiration also appear in Sappho’s poetry. Love ties people together, both literally and figuratively. These three works show that complexities of opinion and circumstance threaten to tear lovers apart, but love may still endure in the most unlikely ways.