Saturday, April 8, 2017

Aquarium # 94 Claine Keily

She became a poet
because she could not be heard
those around her
were onanistic
the mother, the brother, the lovers
her father even
though what saved her was
that after his frustration
he loaned an ear

Born to a family
obscure, selfish and mad
she began by knocking at the doors
of reason
and when no call was heard back
refinement began

All her life she has felt
as though a fish
pressing her lips to the glass
of a tiny, stagnant aquarium
begging those around her
to let in more air

8 comments:

  1. Appreciate the 'madness' of the chaotic family and love the fish image in the last stanza - 'begging those around her/to let in more air' - for sure!

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  2. so yr saying they were all wankers ?
    it seems a very human flaw, if a flaw at all

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    1. No not so much that Kit as difficult to communicate with for a variety of reasons, madness being one, anger issues being another, and in one other case extreme selfishness. At least I had my teacher to talk to!

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  3. so why bring masturbation into the picture at all then?

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    1. It is meant in a highly metaphorical manner Kit. I used this term to signal self absorption/ the inability to engage with the other

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  4. Onanism? Spilled seeds on the ground. Wasted potential. I love this poem, Claine.

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    Replies
    1. Yes Rob the lack of reaching out towards otherness

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