literature

Reading You

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AllisonRachel's avatar
Published:
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Literature Text

I read them.
Every single one.


And with each one I found
that familiar, old pang in my chest.

Often it was somewhere towards the end,
which I'm sure was intentional.
That big pow ending.

But sometimes
it was laid in the middle.
Lazily almost.
A phrase or an object that only I would see.

I paused on them and felt-
their little wisps in my throat,
like reaching for a glass
not knowing it is empty
and tilting it back to take a sip
and for just one second,
having that illusory feeling of water
before realizing nothing had touched me.

I wondered
if anyone else could possibly feel it
without knowing the story,
if they could read the flow and realize
that there is something in the words "boxer shorts"
that could have meaning,
that could make someone well up with tears.

I wonder if this could mean anything
to anyone,
or that we could be important,
or if we were just pages in old books
that once fell in love,
crumpling to dust,
falling into an hourglass
with no pinch in the middle
that lets sand down with no stopper,
like life,
like forgotten time.
A response.
© 2014 - 2024 AllisonRachel
Comments4
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Sushimitzu's avatar
I don't know why I never commented on this one; perhaps it's all the better because I can relate more these days.

This poem really is "a response", part of a conversation: the result of the interaction between two beings separate but not separated (yet or arguably ever), cleverly about this very communication, at various degrees of separation. The underlying social context is a fundamental factor in how humans construct meaning or even identity (of self and of others, and of both in contrast). But as time moves on and beloved ones change, leave, or die, what happens to this meaning, our meaning? We can't help but feel connected still -- and in the way that we have mutually influenced each other, we really are, but a bittersweet taste remains. Because, in the end, we are alone in our knowledge and understanding of how our lives have touched and who we are as a result.

As for the medium, you make good use of wording, rhythm, and punctuation to guide through these ideas and feelings. It does not sound like a pretentious display of artistry but like all the words were chosen this way just to get the point across optimally. You even manage to weave a bit of humor into the melancholy (with a little help from boxer shorts), which just underlines the absurdity and confusion even more.

All in all, I'd say this is my favorite poem of yours.